The surprise European giants Mohamed Salah turned down to stay at Liverpool | OneFootball

Mohamed Salah's decision to sign a new Liverpool contract came as a blow to Real Madrid, who were reportedly doing plenty of background work on a possible move for the Egyptian star.

Madrid have already proven to be a problem for Liverpool in the transfer market, striking an agreement to sign right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold on a free when his contract expires in the summer.

According to The Mail, Alexander-Arnold was not the only Reds star on the radar in Madrid. The La Liga giants were also tracking developments on Salah's future.

Madrid's recent transfer strategy has revolved around taking advantage of expiring contracts to bolster their squad and the chance to snap up one of the world's most in-form forwards was thought to be of intrigue to those in charge at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Salah, however, never offered any encouragement to Madrid that they had a genuine chance of signing him this summer, instead making it abundantly clear that he was giving priority to Liverpool in talks over his future.

Nevertheless, other reports have suggested there were hints Salah could have taken his talents elsewhere. It was recently claimed that, if the 32-year-old had been forced to leave Liverpool, he would have been interested in a return to Chelsea, for whom he made just 19 appearances before being sold to Roma in 2016, 12 months prior to his Liverpool arrival.

There was also confidence in Saudi Arabia that Salah was considering a move to the Middle East as recently as the start of April. Al Hilal were said to be "crushed" by the forward's decision to extend his stay at Anfield.

Formal confirmation of Alexander-Arnold's next move has yet to arrive but Liverpool have brought an end to the vast majority of the speculation surrounding the futures of their star players. Alongside Salah, centre-back Virgil van Dijk has also signed on for a further two years.