It was a saga that lasted nearly a year, but in the end, Mohamed Salah turned down an offer said to be around £500m (approximately Rupees 5000 crores) from Saudi Arabia to stay with Liverpool at Anfield. The new contract will take him through to the end of the 2026-27 season, by which time he will be 35 years old.
Even before Jurgen Klopp left at the end of last season, there had been talk of renewing Salah’s deal, which was to expire on June 30, 2025. But with Arne Slot taking over from Klopp, both sides took their time to come to an agreement. Insiders say that Salah has enjoyed working with Slot and Liverpool’s dominant EPL season – they are 11 points clear of Arsenal with seven matches to play – convinced him that he could yet win more trophies with the Merseyside club he joined in 2017.
The Saudis were very keen to snag the Arab world’s most famous footballer, but Salah has seen how his former strike partners, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino, have fallen off the radar since moving to the desert kingdom. He believes Liverpool can once again be challengers for the UEFA Champions League, club football’s most prestigious competition. He also has his eyes set on the Ballon d’Or, never having finished higher than fifth in the voting.
Salah’s contract will be worth a basic £400,000 a week, but bonuses and endorsements mean that he will be making well over twice that.
Salah is almost certain to win the Golden Boot in England, having scored 27 goals already this EPL season. His 54 goal involvements in all – 32 goals and 22 assists – are unmatched across Europe, and are the ultimate proof of why Liverpool’s owners broke with their usual strategy and extended his contract.