It’s a long-awaited development and it now looks like Mohamed Salah has received his first offer from Saudi Arabia.
As one of the best players in world football and one of the most iconic figures in sport in the Middle East, it’s no surprise that Salah is an attractive candidate.
With the overhaul of the Saudi Pro League and its riches, state-sponsored clubs have already brought in a host of top names.
They include Roberto Firmino, Fabinho and Jordan Henderson – as well as Steven Gerrard, who manages Henderson at Al Ettifaq.
But securing Salah’s services would be an important step in a project widely seen as a sportwash attempt as Saudi Arabia seeks to improve its reputation.
The club that signed Fabinho for £40million has come close to Liverpool No11 Al-Ittihad, according to Al-Riyadiah.
An anonymous source “close to the player” revealed talks with Salah, who was expected to receive a £155m salary over two seasons.
The offer places Salah among the highest paid players in the Saudi Pro League alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema.
Meanwhile, Liverpool will receive a £60m offer, which is ridiculously low considering his stature within Jurgen Klopp’s squad and his status as the club’s record player.
The club may have accepted a £40m offer for Fabinho, but it was probably above the Brazilian’s market value, regardless of his importance to the team.
Salah would almost certainly ask for a transfer fee in excess of £100m as he is Liverpool’s fifth-highest goalscorer in history, a player who has started almost every game and scored 30 or more goals in each. of the last three seasons.
Either way, the 31-year-old doesn’t seem ready to move to Saudi Arabia at this stage of his career.
Egyptian journalist Ismael Mahmoud claimed on Twitter that Salah “wanted to stay in Europe for at least a year” while Liverpool had “no intention” of selling.
Those on Merseyside and beyond will of course be awaiting a response from players’ agent Ramy Abbas Issa on social media before speculation can be stopped.
But the hope is that, as with Luis Diaz at the start of the summer, any hint of Saudi interest in Salah will carry little weight.
Liverpool can ill afford to let the striker go, especially so close to the end of the summer transfer window.