Mohamed Salah has just celebrated his seventh anniversary as a Liverpool player. But the question is, out of contract next summer, for how long will he remain one?
The Egyptian will go down as the Reds’ greatest ever signing in the Premier League era, having signed in a deal worth up to £43.9m from AS Roma in June 2017. Having won every major honour with Liverpool, including both the Premier League and Champions League, a return of 211 goals and 87 assists from 349 appearances has already cemented his place as an all-time club legend.
Recently celebrating his 32nd birthday, Salah has already suggested that he intends to remain with the Reds this season. Despite interest from Saudi Arabia and speculation about his future, he very much remains part of Liverpool’s plans for the year ahead.
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The Reds are also said to be keen to accelerate contract talks with the Egyptian, along with Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold – whose current terms also expire in 2025. But with his contract set to expire next summer, his future beyond this season remains unclear and unresolved.
Of course, Liverpool and Salah found themselves in a similar situation two years ago before agreeing an extension that made the forward the best-paid player in the club’s history. Yet such a deal was struck after protracted negotiations, even if they did conclude with a swift resolution.
This time around, Jurgen Klopp’s six-month long farewell and a plethora of changes behind the scenes at Anfield have ensured contract talks have not been a priority until these summer months.
Ahead of reporting back for pre-season at the AXA Training Centre at the start of next month, Salah is currently enjoying his summer holidays. Along with posting a number of social media updates from the gym, he has also shared pictures of himself enjoying the sun abroad and posing topless by the swimming pool, with a scenic sea view in the background.
Apart from making all of us currently not away on holiday incredibly jealous, such images do offer a reminder of Salah’s contract breakthrough with Liverpool two years ago.
Then sporting director Julian Ward led a delegation to meet the forward, who was on holiday in Mykonos at the time, to finalise the finer details of his most recent extension back in June 2022. A basic framework of his new deal had already been agreed following week-long talks, with negotiations closed and Salah’s signature obtained during the secret trip to the Greek island ahead of the club’s return to pre-season, with the Reds then announcing his new contract on July 1, 2022.
That announcement came out of the blue to onlookers, which does beg the question, with Arne Slot, Richard Hughes and co. now all officially three weeks into their new roles at Liverpool, has any such progress been made during the close-season this time around?
While the Reds will be unable to accelerate contract talks with Van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold until after their participation in Euro 2024, there is nothing stopping progress being made when it comes to Salah’s own future.
The trio officially enter the final 12 months of their Liverpool contracts on July 1. Only time will tell if Reds bosses are again plotting another secret trip in an attempt to resolve Salah’s own future before such a date, or if his contract uncertainty will continue through until pre-season and beyond.