Mohamed Salah has been in a stand-off with Liverpool over a new contract for some time, and the club have maintained they want to keep him. This is the first time that Salah has given a strong public indication that he will be back at Liverpool, one way or another, however teammate Sadio Mane will not confirm his own future until after Saturday’s Champions League final.
Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah has said that he will “for sure” stay with Liverpool next season, while teammate Sadio Mane will reveal his future after the Champions League final.
Salah, 29, won the Premier League golden boot for the third time in his career last weekend, finishing level with Tottenham Hotspur’s Son Heung-min on 23 goals.
However he has just a year left on his deal and there has been a long stalemate between Liverpool and his representatives. It has led to intense speculation that he might leave to join Real Madrid, who saw Kylian Mbappe turn them down to stay at PSG.
“I don’t focus on the contract at the moment,” Salah said when asked by media ahead of the Champions League final against Madrid.
“It’s about the team. It’s a really important week for us. I want to win the Champions League again. I want to see Hendo [Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson] with that trophy in his hands again.”
When pushed about whether he would be playing for Liverpool next season he said: “I’m staying next season for sure.”
The news will be a massive boost to Liverpool, who will now hope to find some common ground in terms of a salary.
In the same press conference Salah talked about the difficulty of coming off early the last time Liverpool faced Madrid in the Champions League final. He also discussed how he’s using the setback of losing the Africa Cup of Nations final with Egypt to fuel him.
“I remember when I went off after 30mins it was the worst moment of my career,” he said.
“I was really disappointed after what happened with the national team, but I came back to England and didn’t want to think about it. There were three or four other trophies to win so I just gave it a try.”
Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson added: “The mood is good. Training was very good. I could see the excitement in them for the weekend. Sunday was tough to take but I couldn’t be more proud of the lads. We’ve won two trophies already and we have a big opportunity to win another.”
Meanwhile, Salah and Henderson’s Anfield colleague Mane has said he will reveal his own plans after the Champions League final.
Speaking to Sky Sports, the Senegalese international explained: “I’m going to answer after the Champions League.”
Mane has been linked with a move to both Barcelona and Bayern Munich in recent weeks.
Liverpool will play Madrid in the Stade de France on Saturday May 28.
OUR VIEW – HUGE FOR LIVERPOOL BUT WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR MANE?
There’s no two ways about it, if Liverpool can keep Mohamed Salah, it’s massive for the club. Some fans have speculated whether it’s worth considering the option of cashing in on Salah before he goes into his 30s.
However with only one year left on his deal it’s hard to imagine Liverpool getting too much money for him compared to a year or two ago.
Plus, perhaps importantly when considering previous examples like Eden Hazard, Salah wants to stay at Liverpool. He clearly loves the club and playing for Jurgen Klopp. To keep him is the best move.
Where the contract lands will be interesting though, the wage Salah wants would break Liverpool’s wage structure – will they follow through with it? Or will they do the seemingly unthinkable and keep him for one year and then let him leave on a free?
Elsewhere, it does open up an interesting question with the future of Sadio Mane. The Senegalese forward is being heavily linked to Bayern Munich, Barcelona and PSG at the moment.
With Salah staying as well as Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz and Roberto Firmino, the forward line positions are crowded. Takumi Minamino will leave, but the club reportedly expect Fabio Carvalho to come into the first-team squad.
If Robert Lewandowski leaves Bayern, might the prospect of being the focus of the project appeal to Mane?
