Saudi Arabia’s bid for Mohamed Salah (31, Liverpool) has been rejected.
“Liverpool have rejected a mega-bid from Al Ittihad for Mohamed Salah,” British Sky Sports journalist Fabrizio Romano reported on August 1.
Earlier, transfer market expert Nicolas Skrera reported on August 24 that “Saudi Arabia’s Al Ittihad have offered ‘only’ 80 million euros ($114.9 billion) a year for Mohamed Salah, with a contract that runs until 2026”.
The Saudis have been criticized for focusing on older stars, but this latest move is different. In addition to signing younger stars like Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Robben Neves, they also snapped up Gabriel Jesus, who had been targeted by Napoli, Chelsea, and Tottenham.
And they’re not stopping with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, and N’Golo Kante. Liverpool‘s Salah is next on the list, especially as he, along with Benzema, is often cited as the best players to come out of Saudi Arabia’s state religion of Islam.
Salah signed a three-year contract with Liverpool in July for a weekly wage of £350,000. However, the question is whether Saudi oil money will sway Salah and Liverpool. The Reds have released all of their main players to Saudi Arabia if they wish.
The Reds have already sold Jordan Henderson to Al Ittifaq and Fabinho has agreed a deal with Al Ittihad. Al Ittihad have also been the most active in pursuing Salah. Aside from Fabinho, Al Ittihad are the biggest club in Saudi Arabia, having already signed Benzema and N’Golo Kante.
In fact, the Saudis are reportedly very interested in Salah. “Al Ittihad are keen on signing Salah,” said Skira. They are willing to offer him a huge salary. “They are planning to pay Salah €80 million a year until 2026,” Skira said, adding that it depends on the player’s wishes.
The Sun added: “Al Ittihad hope Salah, not Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo, will be the new face of the Saudi Pro League. They have not only offered Liverpool a transfer fee of €150 million ($214.8 billion), but also a salary that exceeds Ronaldo’s.”
“The Saudi government has even offered Salah a partial stake in the team going forward. This is similar to 토토사이트 David Beckham’s deal with the LA Galaxy in the early days of Major League Soccer (MLS).”
Al Ittihad once again made a mega offer for Salah in the final days of the transfer window. Sky Sports reported that “Al-Ittihad made a whopping £150 million ($257 million) bid for Salah.
But Liverpool were adamant. The Reds, who had already sold a number of their key players to the Saudis, preferred to keep Salah, even if the offer was huge.
Sky Sports emphasized that “Liverpool have rejected Al Ittihad’s big bid, with the Reds unwilling to sell Salah without a plan B at this stage of the season.”