Topic: Mohamed Salah - Best in the World *

[Legs]

I want to say Pirlo but I accept that is a single anecdotal example. Also ironic as for many years the Italian league was where geriatrics went to still play at the top level …

I take Pirlo good example but game is slower in Italy and much better tactically too.

The pundits/press in Italy speak loads about tactics whilst we have the likes of Micah laughing, shouting and adding NOTHING of any note to a debate.

Italian clubs if they get a good offer they sell and are masters also at loaning players with a view to buy which ends up with them hoodwinking clubs and never buying just another loan...ie Lukaku.

[Haggis36]

General question for those who'll try to make it what it isn't (not directed at you specifically)[/b]
Is he currently worth 400k a week or 20M a year?
Would you extend his contract or risk losing him on a free? (Personally I wouldn't extend his contract because I don't see the value)
If he leaves for free, wouldn't that make it harder to "replace" him? (We'd be forgoing a fee that can be reinvested)
Should the new manager be burdened with the pressure of shoehorning a declining superstar into the team? (His natural position is certainly not his best position anymore).

Feels like no-one who is horrified at people even discussing selling him is prepared to actually answer these questions. Currently, he's leaving in a year on a free - that's where we're at, that's the base scenario. If you don't want that to happen, you either sell him now or you offer him a 2-year extension on £300-400k until he's 35, keeping him amongst the highest paid players in the league - those are likely the options we're working with. I personally think a 1-year extension and/or reduced wages would be our best option, but I think that's almost certainly a non-starter from Salah's own perspective. So for those arguing it's lunacy to sell now, what do you actually think we should do? (not Coolie, he's at least stated that he thinks we should renew Salah's contract). If the contract situation was different the argument would be different because we could just wait and see, but we have to make a decision about this in the next 6 months. If you don't think we should be offering another enormously expensive contract, then all you're really arguing is whether he should leave this summer or next summer, and whether we should try and get some money out of it.

This idea that "we can't replace him" therefore we can't have a discussion about it just doesn't hold any water for me. What's the plan, liquidate the club when Salah retires? We never replaced our greatest ever midfielder in Gerrard, but we've done alright since.

Teams evolve, players emerge, landscapes change. I don't really agree either with the idea that it would be more palatable if the rest of the attack was functioning - Salah is a fairly big part of this problem right now (even just in terms of his role/position, before even getting into form), and it doesn't get magically better if he stays another year, with another year on the clock, and another year of us having to likely tweak our tactics to suit a player who can't physically do what he used to - how does that help the others? Small sample sizes and all that, but we've scored more in the league without him this season, and he's actually third in our squad in terms of minutes per non-penalty goal. I'm not one who thinks stats tell the full story, but the idea that we could just never, ever, ever possibly replace his goals seems wildly overstated to me (the biggest issue with this is that Jota can't stay fit). Replacing his all round production (goals and assists) is far, far tougher, but again people are fixating on replacing a player that may or may not still exist at that level by the time next season kicks off. The 2025 version of Salah very likely won't be able to replace the 2023 version.

Which is not to say we won't miss him when he goes - of course we will, massively. But he is going, whether it's this summer or next summer (or maybe the one after that, at a push). So unless the plan is to just give up on being competitive again when he does, then we're going to have to have a go at replacing him/what he brings at some point.

[jepovic]

It all depends on what offers we get and what he would demand for an extension.

We would and should take 200M in a heartbeat, and I actually dont think its impossible that such an offer would come from the saudis.
He's obviously not a 200M player anymore, but he is the best player from the region ever. He's a huge star.
100M seems more realistic though, and if that is the case we would have to think hard about it.

My guess is that he is worth more to the saudis than to us.

The comparisons with the other 30+ players is missing this aspect completely. Obviously we would sell Robbo for 100M...

[Felch Aid]

I always assumed Salah would start to play a more central role as his pace would slow down but he still plays on the right where he is less effective.

No other European Team will come in for him on those wages with any decent sized transfer fee.

If we qualify for the CL I think he'll want one more go in the new format with a new manager and then leave on a free in 12 months and go to Barca or something like that. I just don't see him in any rush to go to Saudi.

Can't see the club extending his contract at 400k per week - Mane didn't get a large wedge when he asked so the same is likely to happen.

Only other prospect might be PSG but they won't offer more than 30 million but can pay his wages and moreso with Mbappe leaving.

[yes]

We should be biting hands off at anything north of £40m

[Haggis36]

It all depends on what offers we get and what he would demand for an extension.

We would and should take 200M in a heartbeat, and I actually dont think its impossible that such an offer would come from the saudis.
He's obviously not a 200M player anymore, but he is the best player from the region ever. He's a huge star.
100M seems more realistic though, and if that is the case we would have to think hard about it.

My guess is that he is worth more to the saudis than to us.

The comparisons with the other 30+ players is missing this aspect completely. Obviously we would sell Robbo for 100M...

If we get a £100m offer and he's prepared to go, I can pretty much guarantee we'd snap whoever's hand off, I don't think there'd even be a discussion - I don't think that will happen though, because I don't think Salah would want to go to Saudi yet and no European team is offering that.

I think people might need to adjust those expectations a little - whether I/we all agree or not, I think a £50m bid puts the cat firmly amongst the pigeons at board level. Then you're looking at foregoing nearly £70m to get to keep a sub-peak Salah for a single year. That's a lot of money....

[Barryg21]

It all depends on what offers we get and what he would demand for an extension.

We would and should take 200M in a heartbeat, and I actually dont think its impossible that such an offer would come from the saudis.
He's obviously not a 200M player anymore, but he is the best player from the region ever. He's a huge star.
100M seems more realistic though, and if that is the case we would have to think hard about it.

My guess is that he is worth more to the saudis than to us.

The comparisons with the other 30+ players is missing this aspect completely. Obviously we would sell Robbo for 100M...

Thats crazy talk - of course the Saudis want him, but they can get him for nothing in a year. And Mo can stay for a yr, leave on a free and get an (even bigger) sign on
People are acting like we have all the leverage- we dont
He has 1 yr left
No one in Europe will offer us big money for him
And the Saudis act as a cartel as owned by PIF - they aint bidding against themselves

[jepovic]

If we get a £100m offer and he's prepared to go, I can pretty much guarantee we'd snap whoever's hand off, I don't think there'd even be a discussion - I don't think that will happen though, because I don't think Salah would want to go to Saudi yet and no European team is offering that.

I think people might need to adjust those expectations a little - whether I/we all agree or not, I think a £50m bid puts the cat firmly amongst the pigeons at board level. Then you're looking at foregoing nearly £70m to get to keep a sub-peak Salah for a single year. That's a lot of money....

You're looking at this rationally, from the point of view of limited money. The Saudis have infinite money.
We got 40M for Fabinho.

Salah would raise the image of the whole league, in a way that no other player could. Yes, they can wait a year, but they want to improve the state of their league now.

[decosabute]

Feels like no-one who is horrified at people even discussing selling him is prepared to actually answer these questions. Currently, he's leaving in a year on a free - that's where we're at, that's the base scenario. If you don't want that to happen, you either sell him now or you offer him a 2-year extension on £300-400k until he's 35, keeping him amongst the highest paid players in the league - those are likely the options we're working with. I personally think a 1-year extension and/or reduced wages would be our best option, but I think that's almost certainly a non-starter from Salah's own perspective. So for those arguing it's lunacy to sell now, what do you actually think we should do? (not Coolie, he's at least stated that he thinks we should renew Salah's contract). If the contract situation was different the argument would be different because we could just wait and see, but we have to make a decision about this in the next 6 months. If you don't think we should be offering another enormously expensive contract, then all you're really arguing is whether he should leave this summer or next summer, and whether we should try and get some money out of it.

This idea that "we can't replace him" therefore we can't have a discussion about it just doesn't hold any water for me. What's the plan, liquidate the club when Salah retires? We never replaced our greatest ever midfielder in Gerrard, but we've done alright since.

Teams evolve, players emerge, landscapes change. I don't really agree either with the idea that it would be more palatable if the rest of the attack was functioning - Salah is a fairly big part of this problem right now (even just in terms of his role/position, before even getting into form), and it doesn't get magically better if he stays another year, with another year on the clock, and another year of us having to likely tweak our tactics to suit a player who can't physically do what he used to - how does that help the others? Small sample sizes and all that, but we've scored more in the league without him this season, and he's actually third in our squad in terms of minutes per non-penalty goal. I'm not one who thinks stats tell the full story, but the idea that we could just never, ever, ever possibly replace his goals seems wildly overstated to me (the biggest issue with this is that Jota can't stay fit). Replacing his all round production (goals and assists) is far, far tougher, but again people are fixating on replacing a player that may or may not still exist at that level by the time next season kicks off. The 2025 version of Salah very likely won't be able to replace the 2023 version.

Which is not to say we won't miss him when he goes - of course we will, massively. But he is going, whether it's this summer or next summer (or maybe the one after that, at a push). So unless the plan is to just give up on being competitive again when he does, then we're going to have to have a go at replacing him/what he brings at some point.

Outstanding post. Agree with every bit of it and you've expressed my thoughts far better than I could.

[MonsLibpool]

If we get a £100m offer and he's prepared to go, I can pretty much guarantee we'd snap whoever's hand off, I don't think there'd even be a discussion - I don't think that will happen though, because I don't think Salah would want to go to Saudi yet and no European team is offering that.

I think people might need to adjust those expectations a little - whether I/we all agree or not, I think a £50m bid puts the cat firmly amongst the pigeons at board level. Then you're looking at foregoing nearly £70m to get to keep a sub-peak Salah for a single year. That's a lot of money....

From an accouting POV, any transfer fee obviously goes further than it looks on paper and it's not just £xm.

Do we need the money? No because our financial position is very strong.
Would it make our rebuild easier? Of course because the more money you have to invest, the better.

When you look at the players leaving this summer (Thiago and Matip), that also frees up funds to go for a TOP number 6 and a TOP striker that can lead the line. I can bet you that if we let Mo leave for free, people will be wondering why we didn't take the money in a year or two year's time just like when we let some midfielders go for nothing over a few years.

[steampie]

We should be biting hands off at anything north of £40m

Jesus, is it still April 1st?

[Haggis36]

You're looking at this rationally, from the point of view of limited money. The Saudis have infinite money.
We got 40M for Fabinho.

Salah would raise the image of the whole league, in a way that no other player could. Yes, they can wait a year, but they want to improve the state of their league now.

Fabinho had 2-3 years left on his contract though. This isn't like Bayern spending £100m on Kane to help them try and win the CL, this is state sponsored sportswashing with little care or regard for actual competitiveness - I mean PIF wouldn't even really care that much which club they plonked him at, it makes no difference to the end goal.

More to the point, why would Saudi offer £100m if they (and we all know) we'd likely sell at £50m? Why not just offer £400m if money is infinite, makes no difference to them.

To be honest, I think we might see a contraction of the Saudi football project - they spent a fortune bringing genuinely household/star name players to the league last summer and guess what, no prime-age top-class footballers want to go there and no-one watches. Even in their own country - the average league attendance is about 8,000.

[MonsLibpool]

Fabinho had 2-3 years left on his contract though. This isn't like Bayern spending £100m on Kane to help them try and win the CL, this is state sponsored sportswashing with little care or regard for actual competitiveness - I mean PIF wouldn't even really care that much which club they plonked him at, it makes no difference to the end goal.

More to the point, why would Saudi offer £100m if they (and we all know) we'd likely sell at £50m? Why not just offer £400m if money is infinite, makes no difference to them.

To be honest, I think we might see a contraction of the Saudi football project - they spent a fortune bringing genuinely household/star name players to the league last summer and guess what, no prime-age top-class footballers want to go there and no-one watches. Even in their own country - the average league attendance is about 8,000.

Their dealings will reduce next summer because of squad size restrictions.  However,  a player like Mo Salah is an exception as he goes beyond just a football. The man is a celebrity and it'd be more of a vanity signing for them.

[decosabute]

If we get a £100m offer and he's prepared to go, I can pretty much guarantee we'd snap whoever's hand off, I don't think there'd even be a discussion - I don't think that will happen though, because I don't think Salah would want to go to Saudi yet and no European team is offering that.

I think people might need to adjust those expectations a little - whether I/we all agree or not, I think a £50m bid puts the cat firmly amongst the pigeons at board level. Then you're looking at foregoing nearly £70m to get to keep a sub-peak Salah for a single year. That's a lot of money....

I also agree with this. But I'd be less certain about him not wanting to go to Saudi now. A year ago, I'd be certain that a player of Salah's mentality would want to stay in Europe as long as possible and compete for real things. But I also thought for sure that Salah was going to keep producing at an elite level for years to come. Now I'm less sure of that. Maybe he's not sure either.

I still think he'd prefer not to go to Saudi, but if there's a lack of interest in a contract on Liverpool's side and a lack of interest from other top teams in Europe, then who knows how he might react.

[Keith Lard]

Fabinho had 2-3 years left on his contract though. This isn't like Bayern spending £100m on Kane to help them try and win the CL, this is state sponsored sportswashing with little care or regard for actual competitiveness - I mean PIF wouldn't even really care that much which club they plonked him at, it makes no difference to the end goal.

More to the point, why would Saudi offer £100m if they (and we all know) we'd likely sell at £50m? Why not just offer £400m if money is infinite, makes no difference to them.

To be honest, I think we might see a contraction of the Saudi football project - they spent a fortune bringing genuinely household/star name players to the league last summer and guess what, no prime-age top-class footballers want to go there and no-one watches. Even in their own country - the average league attendance is about 8,000.

Completely disagree. I think they’re just getting started and want to make world class sport their brand. Salah will be a prime target for them - they want to make him the poster boy of Arab football. You underestimate his influence in the Arab world. They’ll see him as someone that can influence a generation of Arab players to learn from these superstars they’re importing.

And they’be got a bottomless pit of wealth so they’ll just keep chucking money at this thing imo.

Put it this way, if I was running Saudi football I’d be circling around Salah like a vulture and be banging in a £100m bid (personally I think we will hold out for more if Mo has an end of season flourish or indicates he’d like to sign a contract extension). It’s also a symbolic amount - anything less and it sort of hurts Salah’s hype. No chance they penny pinch on something that could so impactful for this project.

All that being said, I’d prefer Mo to just sign a 3 year extension and focus on becoming a bonafide Liverpool legend. I think he’s got many years left in him at the very highest level.

[Sat1]

Love him, relied on him every year. Hope he smashed Fulham this weekend.

[Haggis36]

From an accouting POV, any transfer fee obviously goes further than it looks on paper and it's not just £xm.

Do we need the money? No because our financial position is very strong.
Would it make our rebuild easier? Of course because the more money you have to invest, the better.

When you look at the players leaving this summer (Thiago and Matip), that also frees up funds to go for a TOP number 6 and a TOP striker that can lead the line. I can bet you that if we let Mo leave for free, people will be wondering why we didn't take the money in a year or two year's time just like when we let some midfielders go for nothing over a few years.

It's boring and no-one likes reducing football down to numbers/money, but that's what Edwards will have been tasked with doing this summer. Whatever fee we get for Salah will be predominantly pure accounting profit - I can't be bothered to try and work out his exact book value but it's probably less than £5m. Like you say we probably don't need the money from a pure cash perspective, but it could give us loads of wiggle-room in terms of ability to add to the squad. We want to be competitive over the next 5 years and beyond, not just next year.

I also agree with this. But I'd be less certain about him not wanting to go to Saudi now. A year ago, I'd be certain that a player of Salah's mentality would want to stay in Europe as long as possible and compete for real things. But I also thought for sure that Salah was going to keep producing at an elite level for years to come. Now I'm less sure of that. Maybe he's not sure either.

I still think he'd prefer not to go to Saudi, but if there's a lack of interest in a contract on Liverpool's side and a lack of interest from other top teams in Europe, then who knows how he might react.

I think it's more likely than a year ago for the reasons you note, but I just can't see him wanting to go and play in front of League 1 level attendances in games that no-one on the worldwide stage cares about. I think he'd rather sit tight and back himself to get a big contract at a PSG or Real Madrid, and incidentally I think that's the most likely option (that he leaves on a free in a year and goes and makes bank elsewhere in Europe, before heading to Saudi in 3-4 years if it's still a thing).

That's the other thing - people are largely ignoring the possibility that maybe Salah wants to go. Financially, his best move is probably to sit out the final year of his contract.

[Haggis36]

Completely disagree. I think they’re just getting started and want to make world class sport their brand. Salah will be a prime target for them - they want to make him the poster boy of Arab football. You underestimate his influence in the Arab world. They’ll see him as someone that can influence a generation of Arab players to learn from these superstars they’re importing.

And they’be got a bottomless pit of wealth so they’ll just keep chucking money at this thing imo.

Put it this way, if I was running Saudi football I’d be circling around Salah like a vulture and be banging in a £100m bid (personally I think we will hold out for more if Mo has an end of season flourish or indicates he’d like to sign a contract extension). It’s also a symbolic amount - anything less and it sort of hurts Salah’s hype. No chance they penny pinch on something that could so impactful for this project.

All that being said, I’d prefer Mo to just sign a 3 year extension and focus on becoming a bonafide Liverpool legend. I think he’s got many years left in him at the very highest level.

Until Saudi have shown they can attract star players who aren't just winding down for retirement/no longer able to compete in top European leagues, no-one is going to care about it. Seriously, look at the attendances - that's for their captive audience of people who actually live there and can go to the games. Regardless of his profile, adding the biggest Arab football star for a generation for what, 4-5 years maybe, is not going to sustainably increase the profile of a league already containing the likes of Ronaldo and Neymar. Who wants to watch Salah playing week in week out against a League 1 level team sprinkled with 2-3 former stars who are largely there to pick up their last paycheck. What's the entertainment value? No player in recent memory has inspired individual player fan-ship like Ronaldo, and even he hasn't managed to make it a popular league.

The whole premise is flawed and honestly it will never work. Not for the next 10-15 years at least.

[G Richards]

Salah holds all the cards until summer 2025. If he wants to see out his deal and have one last go for the CL and Prem under the new manager, before leaving on a Bosman and a VERY large signing bonus, he will.

From the perspective of the club (as fans we talk about doing this or that with players under contract, as if they have no agency in their own career) I think we are at the point where it would be better to sell Salah this summer.

We have the bulk of a very good squad for a new manager. Lots of talent. Most of them at a very good age. And of course the new manager will want to make his own additions, and set the team up according to his vision of the game.

At that point, Mo Salah is potentially a distraction for the new manager. By that I mean he will only have him for one year, and Mo is a declining player. I suspect the new manager would much rather have a clean slate on this one and reinvest the Mo Salah fee into the team.

Arguably, if Mo wanted to stay and have another crack at big titles under the new man, I would give him a one year extension on reduced terms to what he has now, for the purpose of trying to protect some transfer value should he move on in the summer of 2025. That is preferable to losing him on a free, but I very much doubt that Mo would go for that as he is just taking money out of his own pocket, when compared to the signing bonus he would expect if he leaves on a free in the summer of 2025.

In a normal world, without the Saudis, there would be very few takers for Mo Salah this summer. Perhaps even none, given the wages, the fee we would want, Mo’s current level on the pitch, and the fact that he only has a year to go before leaving on a free.

All things considered, it probably boils down to one more year at Liverpool for Mo or leaving this summer, likely to the Saudis. One of those options might be better for Mo, the other might be better for the club.

[Keith Lard]

Until Saudi have shown they can attract star players who aren't just winding down for retirement/no longer able to compete in top European leagues, no-one is going to care about it. Seriously, look at the attendances - that's for their captive audience of people who actually live there and can go to the games. Regardless of his profile, adding the biggest Arab football star for a generation for what, 4-5 years maybe, is not going to sustainably increase the profile of a league already containing the likes of Ronaldo and Neymar. Who wants to watch Salah playing week in week out against a League 1 level team sprinkled with 2-3 former stars who are largely there to pick up their last paycheck. What's the entertainment value? No player in recent memory has inspired individual player fan-ship like Ronaldo, and even he hasn't managed to make it a popular league.

The whole premise is flawed and honestly it will never work. Not for the next 10-15 years at least.

Fair opinions but I think they have a long term view on this as Saudi has a long term plan to diversify their economy and improve their image.

Supporter attendance could also be viewed as not being important in age where people consume football mainly online. The culture is changing.

I can see them making smaller, luxurious stadiums, fully amped up for the fan experience. Gaming areas, etc. They’ll fail if they do it the traditional way of trying to create European, working class style fan culture.

Who knows man, but I don’t see it going away. They see sport as an ideal way to raise their image. Look at what they’re doing with boxing, golf and snooker. It’s shit for people over a certain age that know a better time for sport, but the next generation won’t miss what they haven’t experienced.

[Dr Stu-Pid]

Averaging 1.0 goals or assists per PL game this season, which is his joint second best season for Liverpool.

Second highest career goals or assist rate in PL history (0.91 per game), only beaten by Henry (min 100 games).

Higher goals or assist per game rate in his Liverpool career than Suarez despite playing more than twice the number of games.

Has scored or assisted in 62% of the games that he has played for Liverpool in the PL, which is the highest in PL history (min 100 games).

But yeah, he's had a few bad games after coming back from his first serious injury in his Liverpool career, at a time when the whole team is playing badly, so let's sell him for 40m.

This forum has gone to absolute sh*t after one run of bad form, in a season where we have already won a trophy, still have a chance of winning the title, have been crippled by injuries, and f*cked over by PGMOL. What the hell is going to happen if the new manager has a bad start?

YNWA

[jason42]

Averaging 1.0 goals or assists per PL game this season, which is his joint second best season for Liverpool.

Second highest career goals or assist rate in PL history (0.91 per game), only beaten by Henry (min 100 games).

Higher goals or assist per game rate in his Liverpool career than Suarez despite playing more than twice the number of games.

Has scored or assisted in 62% of the games that he has played for Liverpool in the PL, which is the highest in PL history (min 100 games).

But yeah, he's had a few bad games after coming back from his first serious injury in his Liverpool career, at a time when the whole team is playing badly, so let's sell him for 40m.

This forum has gone to absolute sh*t after one run of bad form, in a season where we have already won a trophy, still have a chance of winning the title, have been crippled by injuries, and f*cked over by PGMOL. What the hell is going to happen if the new manager has a bad start?

YNWA

Amen

[Redley]

In one day I've read on here that we'd get £30 million for Mo and £30 million for Darwin

Burn it with fire

[Keith Lard]

Averaging 1.0 goals or assists per PL game this season, which is his joint second best season for Liverpool.

Second highest career goals or assist rate in PL history (0.91 per game), only beaten by Henry (min 100 games).

Higher goals or assist per game rate in his Liverpool career than Suarez despite playing more than twice the number of games.

Has scored or assisted in 62% of the games that he has played for Liverpool in the PL, which is the highest in PL history (min 100 games).

But yeah, he's had a few bad games after coming back from his first serious injury in his Liverpool career, at a time when the whole team is playing badly, so let's sell him for 40m.

This forum has gone to absolute sh*t after one run of bad form, in a season where we have already won a trophy, still have a chance of winning the title, have been crippled by injuries, and f*cked over by PGMOL. What the hell is going to happen if the new manager has a bad start?

YNWA

Klopp leaving really is a golden time for a lot of us to sack off football. It’s now becoming extremely shit.

Won’t happen though … this Liverpool fc supporting stuff gets implanted at childhood, so however shit it is now we still hark back to better times.

We could be kind to the next generation though and not introduce them to it. It’s like not letting your kids eat junk food. Because I think it is turning into mental junk food these days.

[Haggis36]

Fair opinions but I think they have a long term view on this as Saudi has a long term plan to diversify their economy and improve their image.

Supporter attendance could also be viewed as not being important in age where people consume football mainly online. The culture is changing.

I can see them making smaller, luxurious stadiums, fully amped up for the fan experience. Gaming areas, etc. They’ll fail if they do it the traditional way of trying to create European, working class style fan culture.

Who knows man, but I don’t see it going away. They see sport as an ideal way to raise their image. Look at what they’re doing with boxing, golf and snooker. It’s shit for people over a certain age that know a better time for sport, but the next generation won’t miss what they haven’t experienced.

I don't think it's going away, I just don't think it's an actual threat to the established order of football as we know it. I think there is a chance they could try and take a different route exactly as you describe, to perhaps try and capture a new generation that exists largely online with VR experiences etc, but that's a) a completely different product and b) probably another 5-10 years away minimum, when Salah's career will be long-finished. What we have right now is formerly star players on extended retirements playing football with and against maybe League 1/League 2 level players in front of crowds that occasionally number in the hundreds (not thousands). The game is played at walking pace. Even if Salah went there, the competitive desert and general level would soon drag him down alongside it - where is the motivation? Salah exists to be competitive, but half the household names in that league genuinely don't give a fuck.

In fairness, I take the point - maybe Saudi will just continue to chuck money at it even though they must surely know it's not going to work based on their current model. Likewise, they spent around £80m or so on Neymar (more than I realised actually). I just think even from the most pragmatic business perspective, if they offer £50m we're not going to reject it or spend all summer trying to squeeze more money out of them to the detriment of our own business. If we called their bluff and waited till the end of the summer might they pony up £100m? Sure, but that would derail our preparation for the new campaign.

[G Richards]

I definitely would not sell him for 40M.

You make great points about what Mo has done in his Liverpool career up to this point in time. He has been quite fantastic for us, and in addition, not an ounce of trouble from him as he is a good man with a quiet life, devoted to his football and his family.

The conundrum is the current Mo Salah, and looking to the future, what level he will be for us. If he could continue to do the things listed out, it’s a no brainer. Of course we would have that, and give him an extension too.

But the risk-reward is now whether we would be better off with a clean slate for the new manager, with the Salah fee to reinvest in shaping his team this summer, OR whether Salah leaves on a free in 2025, OR might he accept a modest extension (if indeed Edwards would sanction that).

[Garlic Red]

Good post you use Madrid as an example but don’t use the biggest example of what you’re describing in the last few years, which would be Ronaldo.

Ronaldo of course had extraordinary output but he worked far less for his team than Salah did, and also ran in behind far less.

Salah is still getting chances and still able to run in behind defences, the problem has been his finishing, yesterday it was his movement and dynamism that allowed him to get the chance he missed in the first place.

Ronaldo was an elite 9 though and could score pretty much every type of goal if given the service. He became more and more dependant on his teammates as he started to do less, we can’t afford to do that as we’re trying to overachieve on our budget. Real Madrid could afford to carry an ageing Ronaldo and carry his huge wages because they’re able to spend almost limitlessly on wages as they do such a good job of managing transfer spend.

I don’t doubt for one minute Salah is still good and can continue to be a good player. We need as many players at the peak of their powers - or approaching them - to be successful. I think Mo could extend his career for 5+ years if he goes to La Liga or Serie A, I can’t see him having more than a year or two in England, though.

[Draex]

£40mil? Fuck that.

£100mil + and 100% we'd be interested I reckon.

[Haggis36]

Averaging 1.0 goals or assists per PL game this season, which is his joint second best season for Liverpool.

Second highest career goals or assist rate in PL history (0.91 per game), only beaten by Henry (min 100 games).

Higher goals or assist per game rate in his Liverpool career than Suarez despite playing more than twice the number of games.

Has scored or assisted in 62% of the games that he has played for Liverpool in the PL, which is the highest in PL history (min 100 games).

But yeah, he's had a few bad games after coming back from his first serious injury in his Liverpool career, at a time when the whole team is playing badly, so let's sell him for 40m.

This forum has gone to absolute sh*t after one run of bad form, in a season where we have already won a trophy, still have a chance of winning the title, have been crippled by injuries, and f*cked over by PGMOL. What the hell is going to happen if the new manager has a bad start?

YNWA

What a career he's had.

Funny though, I don't see anyone on here disputing it? Or arguing that he's not been one of our best ever players? If I've missed it though, let me know.

What do you think is in the best interest of the club - to let him go for free in a year's time? Do you think that would have an impact on our ability to be competitive over the next 2-3 years (not does it prevent it, but do you think it has an impact).

Lots of people moaning about the discussion without being willing to engage in any of the actual points of it.

[The G in Gerrard]

What do you think is in the best interest of the club - to let him go for free in a year's time? Do you think that would have an impact on our ability to be competitive over the next 2-3 years (not does it prevent it, but do you think it has an impact).

Would we not want to extend his contract? (If he wants to stay?)

[Haggis36]

Would we not want to extend his contract? (If he wants to stay?)

Well it depends, doesn't it?

On the face of it, personally that's what I hope happens - I hope we're able to find a compromise and do just that. But if it takes a 2-year extension (making it effectively a 3 year deal) on £300k a week (which would represent a paycut but still massively skew our wage structure) would I still feel that way? No, I wouldn't - I don't think that would be in the interests of the overall team. And I'd feel comfortable in saying the odds of us being prepared to offer him a 2-year extension on anything like those kind of wages are precisely zero.

I think there's an outside (and I mean outside) chance we'd be prepared to offer a one year extension on say £250k+ a week, or at a PUSH, maybe a 2-year extension on £200k. The latter would commit us to nearly £40m in wages for a player who could drop off a cliff at any moment (maybe the club have the underlying data to predict when this will happen). You won't find many examples in European football of clubs being prepared to offer/renew contracts at £200k+ for players decently into their 30s - you're looking at a small group including maybe Utd, PSG and Madrid. Bayern Munich invested £100m into buying Kane, but were still only prepared to give him a contract until he was 33 and no longer.

Thing is, I could see this becoming a matter or pride/feeling loved. Isn't that why Mane ultimately left, because he felt we didn't value him anymore? If I'm Salah and Micky Edwards comes along and says we'll renew you for a year on reduced wages, how does he take that? Especially if PSG are in his ear saying we'll give you Mbappe's wages if you sit tight and come here in 12 months time.

[jepovic]

I don't think it's going away, I just don't think it's an actual threat to the established order of football as we know it. I think there is a chance they could try and take a different route exactly as you describe, to perhaps try and capture a new generation that exists largely online with VR experiences etc, but that's a) a completely different product and b) probably another 5-10 years away minimum, when Salah's career will be long-finished. What we have right now is formerly star players on extended retirements playing football with and against maybe League 1/League 2 level players in front of crowds that occasionally number in the hundreds (not thousands). The game is played at walking pace. Even if Salah went there, the competitive desert and general level would soon drag him down alongside it - where is the motivation? Salah exists to be competitive, but half the household names in that league genuinely don't give a fuck.

In fairness, I take the point - maybe Saudi will just continue to chuck money at it even though they must surely know it's not going to work based on their current model. Likewise, they spent around £80m or so on Neymar (more than I realised actually). I just think even from the most pragmatic business perspective, if they offer £50m we're not going to reject it or spend all summer trying to squeeze more money out of them to the detriment of our own business. If we called their bluff and waited till the end of the summer might they pony up £100m? Sure, but that would derail our preparation for the new campaign.

I also dont think the Saudi league will change football at large very much. I'm more nervous about them moving CL games to SA, but thats another story

However, if they are serious about trying to establish the saudi league as a top one, and as the natural top league in the region, then Salah represents an absolutely unique opportunity. He's from the region, he's muslim, he's a world class player with an amazing record. He's also a very likeable person with zero moral controversies. For them, this should be a no brainer even at 100M. 
Getting Salah at 35 would be too late and too meek.

[jepovic]

Well it depends, doesn't it?

On the face of it, personally that's what I hope happens - I hope we're able to find a compromise and do just that. But if it takes a 2-year extension (making it effectively a 3 year deal) on £300k a week (which would represent a paycut but still massively skew our wage structure) would I still feel that way? No, I wouldn't - I don't think that would be in the interests of the overall team. And I'd feel comfortable in saying the odds of us being prepared to offer him a 2-year extension on anything like those kind of wages are precisely zero.

I think there's an outside (and I mean outside) chance we'd be prepared to offer a one year extension on say £250k+ a week, or at a PUSH, maybe a 2-year extension on £200k. The latter would commit us to nearly £40m in wages for a player who could drop off a cliff at any moment (maybe the club have the underlying data to predict when this will happen). You won't find many examples in European football of clubs being prepared to offer/renew contracts at £200k+ for players decently into their 30s - you're looking at a small group including maybe Utd, PSG and Madrid. Bayern Munich invested £100m into buying Kane, but were still only prepared to give him a contract until he was 33 and no longer.

Thing is, I could see this becoming a matter or pride/feeling loved. Isn't that why Mane ultimately left, because he felt we didn't value him anymore? If I'm Salah and Micky Edwards comes along and says we'll renew you for a year on reduced wages, how does he take that? Especially if PSG are in his ear saying we'll give you Mbappe's wages if you sit tight and come here in 12 months time.

200k/week is 10M a year, so 20M, no?
Would be a bargain for Salah IMO

[Haggis36]

200k/week is 10M a year, so 20M, no?
Would be a bargain for Salah IMO

£20m more than if we were to keep him beyond the end of his current contract, but the whole remaining contract would be worth nearly £40m (on the assumption that any pay-cut would only come into play next summer). Signing a 2-year extension this summer commits us to paying 1 more year of £350k, 2 years of £200k (around £38m).

[jepovic]

£20m more than if we were to keep him beyond the end of his current contract, but the whole remaining contract would be worth nearly £40m (on the assumption that any pay-cut would only come into play next summer). Signing a 2-year extension this summer commits us to paying 1 more year of £350k, 2 years of £200k (around £38m).

But we have already committed to half of that...

[Sonofthewind]

In one day I've read on here that we'd get £30 million for Mo and £30 million for Darwin

Burn it with fire

Bloody hell, we could get Richarlison for 50m with ten to spare!

[kaesarsosei]

This isn't knee-jerk - he has been back for what, 2 months? After a 1 month lay-off? That should have been enough time to get back to whatever level he is going to get back to.

I think with the way the season is petering out, and with Klopp going, this summer is finally the time for Mo to find a new challenge.

[Barneylfc∗]

This isn't knee-jerk - he has been back for what, 2 months? After a 1 month lay-off? That should have been enough time to get back to whatever level he is going to get back to.

I think with the way the season is petering out, and with Klopp going, this summer is finally the time for Mo to find a new challenge.

If you don't count the Brentford game when he got re-injured, he was out for 7 weeks and has been back for 6. Still as you say, plenty of time to get back up to speed.

[Dr Stu-Pid]

What a career he's had.

Funny though, I don't see anyone on here disputing it? Or arguing that he's not been one of our best ever players? If I've missed it though, let me know.

What do you think is in the best interest of the club - to let him go for free in a year's time? Do you think that would have an impact on our ability to be competitive over the next 2-3 years (not does it prevent it, but do you think it has an impact).

Lots of people moaning about the discussion without being willing to engage in any of the actual points of it.

Let's be frank, the percentage of posts on the forum (and this thread) looking for reasonable discussion are very low, it's mainly venting, b*tching, and massively over-reacting to small sample sizes.

But to your point, I would change your first line to be 'what a great career he's having', because as I indicated in my post, this season his numbers are still elite at 1.0 goals or assists per game. The 'decline' that we are witnessing is based on 4 or 5 games, not the season as a whole, and as it is coupled with returning from an injury, it's not ridiculous to suggest that it is simply a dip in form rather than any sort of decline. In fact, after the last AFCON he also saw a dip in form, and lots of posters on this forum were very keen to shout about it being the start of his decline, and again there were suggestions that we should cash in while we could.

But admittedly this year is different to the last time that he had a year left on his contract. But that is more due to the fact that we will have a new manager rather than the fact that he is older. If we don't think that Salah will fit into the new manager's plans and we can get 100m+ for him, then of course we should consider it. That 100m could be used to buy players more suited to the way that the new manager wants to play. But that is massively caveated to say that the same applies to ANY player in the team, and also by the fact that I can't imagine that many managers would rather manage a team without Salah than a team with him in it.

Given Salah's continued elite performance this season, his excellent durability, his excellent attitude (on and off the field), and the lack of obvious elite replacements in the same price point, I would definitely be offering him an extension this season rather than looking to cash in on him. He has already adapted his game, and he is intelligent enough as a player to continue to do so moving forward. For a club as wealthy as we are, we should be looking to keep our prized assets IMO, especially with some large contracts coming off the books this summer. We have a very promising young squad, but it needs leadership from senior players as well, and I would look for Salah, VVD, and Alisson to provide that leadership over the next few years.

However, if a ridiculous 200m offer was to come in from Saudi Arabia early in the transfer window then I suspect that we would definitely sell. 100m and I think we would probably refuse, so there is a figure somewhere in the middle which is the likely value that FSG place on him.

Of course what Salah wants to do is more important than what offer we get for him. If he wants one last shot at the Champion's League then I don't think he'll accept any offer from Saudi Arabia, so we would have to sell to a European rival instead. PSG are the only likely candidate, and I'm not sure that even they would be willing to put up the money that we would likely be asking for (assuming that he refuses an extension and says that he will leave as a free agent).

So how about we just concentrate on winning the f*cking title, supporting our players that are trying to do so, and then worry about this in June?

[Haggis36]

Let's be frank, the percentage of posts on the forum (and this thread) looking for reasonable discussion are very low, it's mainly venting, b*tching, and massively over-reacting to small sample sizes.

But to your point, I would change your first line to be 'what a great career he's having', because as I indicated in my post, this season his numbers are still elite at 1.0 goals or assists per game. The 'decline' that we are witnessing is based on 4 or 5 games, not the season as a whole, and as it is coupled with returning from an injury, it's not ridiculous to suggest that it is simply a dip in form rather than any sort of decline. In fact, after the last AFCON he also saw a dip in form, and lots of posters on this forum were very keen to shout about it being the start of his decline, and again there were suggestions that we should cash in while we could.

But admittedly this year is different to the last time that he had a year left on his contract. But that is more due to the fact that we will have a new manager rather than the fact that he is older. If we don't think that Salah will fit into the new manager's plans and we can get 100m+ for him, then of course we should consider it. That 100m could be used to buy players more suited to the way that the new manager wants to play. But that is massively caveated to say that the same applies to ANY player in the team, and also by the fact that I can't imagine that many managers would rather manage a team without Salah than a team with him in it.

Given Salah's continued elite performance this season, his excellent durability, his excellent attitude (on and off the field), and the lack of obvious elite replacements in the same price point, I would definitely be offering him an extension this season rather than looking to cash in on him. He has already adapted his game, and he is intelligent enough as a player to continue to do so moving forward. For a club as wealthy as we are, we should be looking to keep our prized assets IMO, especially with some large contracts coming off the books this summer. We have a very promising young squad, but it needs leadership from senior players as well, and I would look for Salah, VVD, and Alisson to provide that leadership over the next few years.

However, if a ridiculous 200m offer was to come in from Saudi Arabia early in the transfer window then I suspect that we would definitely sell. 100m and I think we would probably refuse, so there is a figure somewhere in the middle which is the likely value that FSG place on him.

Of course what Salah wants to do is more important than what offer we get for him. If he wants one last shot at the Champion's League then I don't think he'll accept any offer from Saudi Arabia, so we would have to sell to a European rival instead. PSG are the only likely candidate, and I'm not sure that even they would be willing to put up the money that we would likely be asking for (assuming that he refuses an extension and says that he will leave as a free agent).

So how about we just concentrate on winning the f*cking title, supporting our players that are trying to do so, and then worry about this in June?

Lots of good points and I agree with plenty of it, but I think basically there's a lot of consensus on this thread, including yourself? I've seen considerably more posts saying if a big offer comes in we'll have to consider it, which is the crux of the above, and relatively few saying "he's finished, get rid" (certainly now that the emotions of last night have mellowed out a bit). I mean not everyone will agree on the tipping point in £ terms, and not all of the posts will be as eloquent or as detailed as yours, but that's the internet.

In terms of some of the points - no it's definitely not ridiculous to suggest he's just having a blip in form, but it's alst not ridiculous to suggest he's experiencing age-related decline which is very common in players at this age and can often be seemingly inexplicably sharp/sudden. I take the point about people predicting his downfall long before now, but with every passing year sadly those people are more and more likely to be correct - that's just the laws of human physiology. Ultimately, Michael Edwards gets paid the big bucks to decide which of those it is. And if Salah's numbers say he's still elite, well so do Jota and Nunez's, so cause for optimism that we're not going to suddenly become midtable without him. For all the talk of leadership and mentoring this young group, when we've needed it most in the past 2-3 weeks as our season has started to unravel, it's not really been there (not targeted at Salah specifically, but all of the senior players bar maybe Robbo).

But on the whole I agree - I also would like him to extend (for one year) but believe there is a tipping point to selling him this summer, although I think that amount would be closer to £50m, but that's fine we can agree to disagree there.

I just never really understand when people try to shut down any debate/discussion and say well can't we just support the players, as otherwise what's the point of having a discussion board then, to just endlessly post compliments and well wishes until the off-season? We all support the team and want what's best for it, we're all desperately willing these lads to have one last stand and achieve an unlikely send-off for a man we adore - discussing the future shape and state of the team isn't mutually exclusive. If anything it's been largely precipitated by the cloud we've had for months of knowing we have huge upheaval coming in a matter of weeks, made worse by an indifferent few weeks on the pitch where even the players look like they just want the season to be over - it's understandable people are casting one eye towards "what's next", it doesn't mean we aren't supporting the team - it's just a silly little internet forum after all.