Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah is now ready to leave Anfield in the summer with a move to Barcelona looking more likely than ever, according to reports.
The Egypt international does not appear to be troubled by the fact he has yet to receive a renewal offer to extend a contract which is due to expire in the summer and, having set a new Liverpool record of 20-plus goals for seven-successive seasons, his start to the new campaign means he is already well on his way to extending that.
Saudi Arabian side Al Ittihad made an offer to buy Salah – who has contributed nine goals and seven assists in 15 matches in all competitions this term – for £150m just over a year ago with Liverpool making it clear at the time he wasn’t for sale.
Speculation was around over the most recent summer transfer window too but there was very little in the way of concrete interest and now rumours have begun over whether Salah will sign a new deal or leave for free next June.
A recent report in Football Insider claimed that Salah ‘wants a mega-money three-year deal’ to remain at Liverpool with the Reds usually cautious about handing out long-term contracts to players in their 30s.
And, after scoring the winning goal against Brighton over the weekend, the Egypt international put out a cryptic message on social media.
Salah wrote: “Top of the table is where this club belongs. Nothing less. All teams win matches but there’s only 1 champion in the end. That’s what we want.
“Thank you for your support last night. No matter what happens, I will never forget what scoring at Anfield feels like.”
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And now Spanish publication Sport claim that Salah is now ‘willing to change teams’ as his future at Liverpool remains up in the air with a move to Barcelona now ‘feasible’.
That will be music to Joan Laporta’s ears with the Barcelona president hoping to make Salah his big signing in the summer of 2022 before Salah committed his future to Liverpool.
It is claimed that at the time Salah ‘listened to Barça, but he did not go any further because the amounts being considered were huge’ but now the Catalan giants retain interest.
Barcelona will be able to talk to Salah in January, if the Egyptian hasn’t secured a new deal with Liverpool, and the Reds star fits the ‘profile the Blaugrana team is looking for to improve a team that is going like a cannon in the offensive zone’.
