Mo Salah could TREBLE Liverpool wages with Saudi transfer due to Cristiano Ronaldo row
Mo Salah will be offered the chance to become the new face of the Saudi Pro League this summer. And the 33-year-old would TREBLE his £400,000-a-week Liverpool wages if he accepts a proposal to bring down the curtain on his nine-year stay at Anfield.
The Saudis are desperate for the Egyptian talisman to replace Cristiano Ronaldo, who is threatening to walk away from his bank-busting £3.35million-a-week Al-Nassr contract after going on strike over the way the SPL has been conducting transfer business.
Ronaldo was furious to see former Real Madrid team-mate Karim Benzema given permission to move from Al-Ittihad to Al-Nassr title rivals Al-Hilal last week and missed the game against Al-Riyadh on Monday.
The 41-year-old Portuguese superstar has been warned by Pro League bosses that no player will be allowed to influence decisions taken by an independent transfer committee to make sure clubs don’t spend their way into financial problems.
There have been suggestions that the former Manchester United and Juventus goal-machine will now look to return to Europe to continue his quest to hit the 1,000-goal mark he craves.
The Saudis tried to lure Salah last summer, and he has remained at the top of their wish-list, despite committing himself to Liverpool in the aftermath of last season’s title win.
However, his recent rift with Reds boss Arne Slot, when the Kop hero was dropped after publicly questioning his treatment under the Dutchman, fuelled hopes that he might look for a new challenge at the end of the season.
Saving Salah’s astronomical wages would be a big temptation for Reds bosses, who would also be looking for a significant transfer fee when the Saudi’s start to firm up their interest in the coming months. They would want any deal to be finalised before Salah goes to the World Cup with his country.
Salah, who turns 34 in June, has started Liverpool’s last four games after returning to the club following the disappointment of Egypt’s African Cup of Nations semi-final defeat to Senegal.
He is expected to start today’s massive league game against Manchester City, but he has struggled to find the form that has made him an Anfield legend.
Salah has scored just six goals in all competitions and found the net in just four Premier League games as the champions have failed to mount a defence of their title.
The forward has scored 251 goals for Liverpool since arriving from Roma in a £43million deal in the summer of 2017 and has won two Premier League titles, the Champions League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup.