Is Mohamed Salah (Liverpool, 31) really heading to Saudi Arabia, with the Egyptian national team’s performance fuelling speculation of a shock move.
“Liverpool ace Salah is set to take a break from the Egyptian national team as he mulls over his future,” the UK’s The Sun reported on Wednesday. He has received a monster transfer offer from Al Ittihad worth £170 million ($282.8 billion),” the Sun reported.
“Salah has been granted a break as he weighs up his future,” the outlet continued, “The Egyptian national team called up Salah for an African Cup of Nations qualifier against Ethiopia last Thursday. He was due to join the squad on Monday, but the Egyptian Football Association has allowed him to stay in England and attend transfer talks.”
It’s a gesture that allows Salah to focus on his transfer negotiations. According to The Sun, the Egyptian FA decided to give him a break as they had already qualified for the knockout stages of the competition. Salah will monitor the situation in England before traveling to Egypt, where he is expected to play against Tunisia on Wednesday.
Salah has been the subject of intense interest from Al Ittihad in recent days. According to Sky Sports, BBC, The Athletic, and others, Al-Itihad has already sent Liverpool a staggering £150 million offer with options. However, Liverpool rejected the offer, saying Salah was not for sale.
Still, Al Ittihad are not giving up. They are now determined to bring Salah home, even if it means breaking the record for the highest transfer fee. They’re reportedly ready to up the ante and offer as much as £200 million ($332.7 million).
If Liverpool accept, Salah could overtake Neymar as the most expensive player in soccer history. The current ‘world record’ is €222 million, set by Neymar when he moved to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017.
Salah will also receive a hefty weekly salary. “Salah, who speaks Arabic and is a devout Muslim, has been offered a staggering £2.3 million ($3.8 billion) a week,” according to The Sun. If the report is true, Salah could earn close to £120 million ($196.6 billion) a year.
Of course, they still need Liverpool’s permission. The Reds have so far given a firm ‘no’, so it remains to be seen if Al Ittihad can convince them. 토토사이트
But at £200 million, the most expensive transfer in history is certainly a hard temptation to resist. Former Arsenal pundit Paul Merson described £200 million as “irresistible” for Liverpool.
Even Jürgen Klopp has admitted that the power of oil money is hard to beat. He recently said: “Next week we will see how difficult it is to overcome the power of the Saudis. No one can resist anymore,” he said, adding, “There is no denying that the Saudis are a threat. What can we do? The contract is so huge that we have a problem. It’s 100%.”
The fact that the Egyptian national team has given Salah a break also adds to the transfer speculation. If Salah were to stay at Liverpool without a second thought, he would have no reason to be in England. The fact that he’s in England and not with the national team means he can hold negotiations or talks to push for a move.
“Signing Salah, who has scored 140 goals in 234 Premier League games, would be a huge coup for the Saudi league,” says The Sun. Even Jürgen Klopp has admitted he is powerless to stop Saudi oil money,” adding that the upcoming game against Aston Villa “could be Salah’s last”.
The Athletic also emphasized that Salah’s transfer saga is far from over. “If anyone at Anfield believes the Salah saga is over, they are almost certainly mistaken. With cryptic social media posts, huge wage demands and talks between the Saudis and Salah’s agent, the transfer saga has only just begun,” explaining that “Al Ittihad have not given up hope yet.”
For now, the transfer market in the Saudi Professional League is still open. While the Premier League closed player registration on September 1 local time, the Professional League has until September 7 to add new players to their teams. Will Al Ittihad still have time to make a signing that will go down in soccer history?