Why Liverpool's Mohamed Salah won't join Barcelona this summer

Cameron Smith

• 5 Apr 2022 13:52 CDT
• 3 min read

Mohamed Salah's situation at Liverpool is currently a tenuous one. The player reportedly wants to be alleviated into a wage bracket similar to the best-paid players in the Premier League, while Liverpool are yet to offer him that much money.

The Egyptian's contract expires next year, so Jurgen Klopp's side are understood to be keen on agreeing a new deal as soon as possible in order to avoid a situation where Salah enters the final year of contract and could leave on a free in the summer of 2023.

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But, nothing concrete has been agreed and Salah only remains contracted at Liverpool until next summer.

In fact, Salah's last contract extension at the club came after his immense first season, back in 2018, meaning it's coming up to four years since he renewed his deal at Anfield.

With that in mind, plenty of clubs have drafted the idea of moving for Salah this summer. Due to the fact he hasn't renewed his deal, Liverpool will either need to agree a brand-new contract for the player, or look to sell; otherwise they'll risk losing him on a free transfer next year.

Barcelona were one such club who began sniffing around the situation surrounding Salah's future at Liverpool. Despite reports that Salah is happy at Liverpool, rumours began to circulate linking the former Chelsea and Roma winger with a move to the Camp Nou.

Under Xavi's management, Barcelona have re-found their form, and are unbeaten in all competitions since the end of January. This has put them back into pole position for a Champions League place for next season, which would come with a fair amount of cash attached to it.

However, despite the rumours that suggested Salah could join the Blaugrana this summer, Diario AS have revealed that a move won't happen this summer.

Why won't Salah join Barcelona?

First of all, Liverpool are reportedly trying to agree a deal with Salah over a new contract, and that could stump any efforts from other clubs looking to sign the Egypt captain.

However, the report from Diario AS states that Barca have ended their pursuit of Salah due to his wage demands.

The Spanish giants are still feeling the effects of the financial woes they suffered last summer following La Liga's salary cap, and with Salah's wages likely out of reach already, the fee Liverpool could demand reportedly has warded off Barcelona's interest.

Excluding Ferran Torres, Barcelona have solely signed players on free transfers over the past 12 months in order to avoid paying a transfer fee to save costs. So, with Salah still contracted to Liverpool until 2023, a move to a Barcelona side on the rise is off the table.