Mohamed Salah admits he was 90 per cent sure he was going to leave Liverpool before striking a two-year agreement with Arne Slot's side.
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Salah in contract impasse for monthsThen signed two-year Liverpool dealSays he was 90 per cent sure he would leaveFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
Salah sent the footballing world into overdrive when he said at the start of this season that this would be his last year at the club, as he entered the final 10 months of his contract. In late December, the 32-year-old revealed he and the Reds were still "far away" from agreeing new terms before he finally put pen to paper on a contract until 2027 in April. Now, he has admitted that he was not confident of extending his stay as he knows how owners, Fenway Sports Group, operate when it comes to contracts for players over 30.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportWHAT SALAH SAID
He told Sky Sports: "Based on the club's history, 10 per cent [chance of staying]. Because we know the philosophy of the club, I'm not attacking them. I know how they deal with players over 30 in the past and I know how the situation will be so I never expect the club is going to be, 'Okay, you have two years there'. We reach a point in the money [negotiations], all of us are happy so I didn't expect I was going to stay. I think it took six months for the negotiation to go really quick and I think from January, I go, 'Okay, now things are getting better and better'. It took a while. I think the club tested me to see if I can provide or not (laughs). I didn't want more than that, just the two years."
When asked who was more important to tie down to a new deal, him or Virgil van Dijk, he laughed and replied: "I think both. You need clean sheets and goals, without goals and clean sheets you won't win trophies."
THE BIGGER PICTURE
In the end, Salah and Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk both penned two-year contracts – much to the relief of the entire club. They have just won the Premier League, the duo are playing some of the best football of their career, and now they will be hungry to win more trophies next season. The Reds would have been in a much weaker position if Salah, Van Dijk, and Trent Alexander-Arnold – who is set to join Real Madrid – all left in one fell swoop this summer.
Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT?
Salah will hope to continue his excellent season, where he has scored 33 goals in all competitions, when Liverpool take on Brighton on Monday in their penultimate Premier League game of the campaign.
