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Mohamed Salah is something of a silent killer, he lets his football speak for him and keeps quiet off the field. He refuses to ruffle feathers, has no obvious ego, and always gives his all.
In short, it is a soccer coach’s dream.
That is why his recent interview with the Spanish newspaper AS to stoke the fire of a possible signing for Real Madrid or Barcelona was so out of place and caught so many people off guard.
The last time he agreed to do an interview with anyone in the British media, outside of Liverpool’s internal communications, was during his first season at Anfield, after he had just broken the 40-goal barrier for Liverpool.
According to those there, he spoke for less than five minutes and looked uncomfortable the entire time. Making media was a chore for him, rather than a tool to enhance his personality off the field.
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The only other times he has spoken publicly were during the football writers’ awards ceremony in 2018, when he flew to London specifically for the award and left immediately after despite being the same night as the awards night itself. Liverpool, and in 2019 when she spoke to Time magazine about women’s rights. This is the first time that he talks about his future.
Cristiano Ronaldo has been a master at using the media to secure a better contract with Real Madrid, as has Sergio Ramos, while Paul Pogba’s agent, Mino Raiola, speaks on behalf of his clients to get them a transfer or a new deal. But that rarely happens at a club as controlled as Liverpool.
The suggestion that Georginio Wijnaldum would not be able to sign a new contract at the club was the first indication that a player wanted to leave since Philippe Coutinho pushed for him to move to Barcelona in January 2018.
But Salah is the first to speak publicly, and it wasn’t just praise for another club, it was the revelation that he was disappointed with the current one.
With Jordan Henderson, Virgil van Dijk and James Milner injured, Salah anticipated that he would be the one to take on the captain’s armband, only to be overlooked by a player six years his junior in Trent Alexander-Arnold. He saw it as a kick in the teeth for someone who has broken so many records for the club and spearheaded its most successful stint in more than 30 years.
Then he took the bait that Real Madrid and Barcelona are “top clubs” before immediately adding “who knows what will happen in the future, but right now I’m focused …”
It is a line trampled on by hundreds of footballers before him and will be trampled on by hundreds of footballers after him. But what was the meaning of that?
Salah has won all he could win in Liverpool, played a key role in ending 30 years of domestic pain, scored a last-minute goal against Manchester United, rekindled the Reds’ romance with the Champions League. , has seen the club be crowned world champion and has broken record, record after record, after record.
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He may have other ambitions, to play in Spain in another of the most famous clubs in the world. After all, if you were to leave Anfield, there are only two places you could realistically go.
Barcelona will be looking for someone to take over from Lionel Messi as they enter a new era if he keeps his promise that he will leave the club at the end of the season. They are also in the middle of presidential elections and if something can seal the vote of one of the candidates, it is the promise of signing one of the best players in the world.
Real Madrid have not spent money in over a year and there will be a large amount of cash poking a hole in the deep pockets of President Florentino Pérez.
Both clubs are in dire need of reform and the signing of Salah would not only be a massive declaration of intent, but also a blow to the other as they would lose him.
And if Salah’s words are to be believed, he is open to it.
But should they be believed? Do you really want to leave what is probably the best team in the world right now, who will be the favorite to win all the competitions that you are in again? Or do you just want a new contract?
Salah is currently 28 years old with two and a half years left on his current contract with Liverpool. He will begin talks with the club about an extension in the next six months for what will likely be the biggest payday he will ever have as a professional footballer. Comments like this will only earn you a little more.
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It is common for footballers to do this and it almost always works. What Salah said was actually very honest and completely innocent and it wouldn’t have bothered anyone at the club too much.
But it would still have piqued the interest of the big two in Spain, and they can be very persuasive, even if the player starts with no intention of leaving.
But his words carry less weight than they might have had if the negotiations had taken place 12 or 24 months earlier. Barcelona are in overwhelming debt and asked their players to accept pay cuts in a bid to let the most inflated payroll in Europe out of the air. They will only be able to pay for it if Messi leaves, and maybe not even then.
As for Real Madrid, financially they are in a much healthier situation, but their eyes are on a different striker, Kylian Mbappé, who at the end of the season only has 12 months left on his contract with PSG and has made similar comments to Salah. it is about an afterlife in Spain.
Nothing is certain in soccer and things can change very quickly, but unless Salah is really serious about a new challenge that cannot change any amount of money, expect to see him pose with a new contract six to 12 months from now and continue to lead the line of Liverpool’s new era.
