A move to Barca or Madrid? Why Salah won't decide his Liverpool future until the summer

FT Desk

• 15 Mar 2022 11:25 CDT
• 4 min read

Earlier this week, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp reignited this club’s negotiations with Mohamed Salah by pointing out that the striker had yet to sign a new deal with the Anfield side.

The Egypt international has been in tremendous form for Liverpool this season, bagging no less than 27 goals and 10 assists in just 34 games for the Anfield club.

However, despite his clear importance to Klopp’s team, Salah’s contract continued to wind down at the club and is set to expire at the end of next season.

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As such, speculation has begun to mount surrounding the player’s future, with Real Madrid and Barcelona both heavily linked with the player, and Klopp could do very little to quell any concerns from Liverpool fans.

“Mo expects this club to be ambitious,” said Klopp when asked about Salah’s future at Liverpool.

“We cannot do much more. It is Mo’s decision. It is all fine from my point of view. Nothing happened further, no signing or rejection. We just have to wait, there’s no rush.”

So why hasn’t Salah signed a new deal with Liverpool? Much of his reasoning may be down to the forthcoming summer window.

He’s waiting to see what happens with Mbappe

There’s no doubt that Salah’s potential options this summer will depend on where Kylian Mbappe decides to play his football next season.

If the French striker decides to stay put at Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid could turn to Salah and make an offer for the player as an ideal back-up option.

Similarly, if Mbappe opts for a move to Spain, PSG may in turn then make a bid for Salah and offer him the kind of money Liverpool simply can’t match.

According to sports journalist Fabrizio Romano, Salah has made no decision to push for a move this summer, but could depart the club 12 months later on a free transfer.

As such, there’s some logic behind Salah simply biding his time and waiting to see what happens with the young striker in Paris.

The Klopp question

Even if Salah isn’t actively pursuing a departure from Liverpool this year, he would still be wise to wait until the summer and see what Klopp has planned for the club.

The German manager has suggested a number of times that he will leave at the end of the 2022/23 season, which would also coincide with Salah’s contract coming to an end at Liverpool.

As such, the Egyptian talent may simply be waiting to see whether Klopp will change his mind and stay long at Anfield or whether the club will be able to find an inspiring successor to him in the summer of 2023.