Although Liverpool have made some exciting summer signings early into the window, the departure of Sadio Mane left the fans in grief, given his immense contribution over the past six years. They needed a piece of news that would uplift their spirit and the club has now delivered the best possible one by tying Mohamed Salah down to a new three-year contract.
The negotiations took long as the Egyptian’s demands were not falling within their wage structure. The 30-year-old attacking ace deserved a significant pay rise and the management finally accepted his demands without breaking the principles. It’s a win-win for all parties involved considering a large chunk of his current salary is performance, appearance and success-based bonuses (as revealed by David Maddock of Mirror Football).
Why It’s A Correct Move From the Liverpool Board
Liverpool are not run by oligarchs or Middle-East-backed owners. They have certain financial limitations and the management, therefore, is bound to maintain a wage bracket to have harmony within the squad. However, it’s necessary to amend the structure when the player is generational and Salah, with numerous individual and team honours in the last five years, deserves special treatment from their American owners.
“I feel great and [I am] excited to win trophies with the club. It’s a happy day for everyone. It takes a little bit of time, I think, to renew, but now everything is done so we just need to focus on what’s next.”
Salah told Liverpoollfc.com after committing his future.
While his previous deal was supposed to expire next summer, Salah is now staying for at least three more years. Liverpool missed the league by just a point, but the red-hot Egyptian won his second FWA Footballer of the Year and PFA Players’ Player of the Year awards along with the 3rd Golden Boot in five seasons since joining the Merseysiders. They could not afford to lose both him and Mane in the same window, also, a Bosman exit next summer would have been catastrophic due to his stellar form across competitions.
Liverpool completed a Cup double but, at the same time, had heartbreaks in both the Premier League and Champions League despite contesting for a ‘quadruple’ until the last week of the 2021-22 campaign. Salah lost the AFCON final against Mane’s Senegal, and the latter shattered their World Cup dreams in the playoff final. It’s been a mixed season for the wingman and the club would demand more from him as he has got some unfinished business left in Merseyside.
