Football Today
·25 de novembro de 2024
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·25 de novembro de 2024
Liverpool winger Mohamed Salah was on fire as the Reds secured a 3-2 win against Southampton on Sunday at St Mary’s.
The Reds legend scored two goals in the second half as Liverpool extended their lead at the top of the Premier League table to eight points over Manchester City.
The Egyptian king has scored 12 goals and provided ten assists in all competitions for Liverpool in 2024/25, but we haven’t reached December yet.
He is loved and adored by the fans, but his contract situation is proving to be a major headache for the club.
Salah is in the final year of his deal at Anfield, along with Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold, and all three could leave at the end of the season.
According to a report from the Daily Mail, Liverpool have started making contact with Salah’s agent, Ramy Abbas, over a contract extension, and senior Anfield sources have told them that talks have been positive.
James Pearce of The Athletic also confirmed the same, and he added talks “remain ongoing” at the moment.
He wrote: “Senior Anfield sources insist that discussions with Salah’s representative Ramy Abbas have been positive and remain ongoing.”
Salah spoke to a few journalists after the game: “We are almost in December and I haven’t received any offers yet to stay in the club. I’m probably more out than in.
“You know I have been in the club for many years. There is no club like this. But in the end it is not in my hands. As I said before, it is December and I haven’t received anything yet about my future.
“I love the fans. The fans love me. In the end it is not in my hands or the fans’ hands. Let’s wait and see.
“I’m not going to retire soon so I’m just playing, focusing on the season and I’m trying to win the Premier League and hopefully the Champions League as well. I’m disappointed but we will see.”
While there is no doubt that Salah remains a world-class player, and he is likely to continue his impressive form for the next few years, Liverpool at the same time need to plan for the future as well.
Salah wants to play for Liverpool, but this interview has a different connotation. In the past five years, Salah has turned down hundreds of interview requests in the mixed zone.
After the game against Southampton, he met four journalists who were waiting behind a metal barrier. Clearly, he wanted to get something off his chest. He probably felt that the time was right for him to speak about his contract situation publicly.
Salah has decided to crank up the pressure on the club’s decision-makers, but what has really surprised everyone is the timing of the outburst. This is a crunch week for Liverpool as they will face Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday and Manchester City on Sunday, but Salah’s comments will generate unwanted headlines.