Liverpool
Liverpool’s long goodbye to Mohamed Salah has begun, and their rivals should be concerned.
Share
In this week’s Blood Red column, Paul Gorst analyzes Saudi Arabia’s interest in Mohamed Salah and wonders if this is the start of a protracted separation.
The message is occasionally purposefully misunderstood because of the messenger in the fearsomely tribalistic world of modern football.
There can be few on the continent who will find fault with Jurgen Klopp’s most recent position, even though Liverpool’s detractors occasionally willfully ignore the point being made by him on issues like fixture scheduling, the relentless football calendar, and an increased demand on players’ bodies.
The Saudi Pro League’s unhindered ability to move players during their own transfer window in the face of Europe’s top players still being available for cherry-picking and their clubs having to wait until January is simply not fair.
The Saudi Pro League has eye-watering wealth, after all.
The possibility of Mohamed Salah leaving Liverpool will no doubt excite fans of the clubs that the Reds will be competing against at the top of the Premier League in the upcoming months.
However, it would be shortsighted to view the upcoming week of Saudi player trading with excitement and hope that Liverpool’s record Premier League marksman leaves after six illustrious years.
Because while Liverpool may be playing the role of the easy target, at the mercy of players having their heads turned by the incredible wealth on offer in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, it could equally easily be Manchester City, Arsenal, or Manchester United the next time.
Due to the departures of Riyad Mahrez and Aymeric Laporte to Al-Ahli and Al-Nasr, respectively, City, like Liverpool, have already been forced into hastily reevaluating their own plans.
The writing should be on the wall for every other club in world football if even the treble-winning and absurdly wealthy Man City are powerless to fend off the Saudis’ millions.
In his Friday press conference, Klopp reiterated his long-standing position that the transfer deadline for clubs in the KSA should be synchronized with those in the other European markets.
With UEFA, “we have to make sure that these European leagues stay as strong as they are,” Klopp said on Friday.
“For that, you always need assistance from these kinds of things, such as altering regulations, laws, or other relevant laws.
The bottom line of the Saudi contract is the great equalizer in all of this, even though historic clubs across Europe are able to offer players the prospect of a glittering career, considerable wealth, and the respect of football fans around the world.
It’s a fair request, and managers across the continent will undoubtedly agree with it.
However, there is no denying that there is a new world football landscape today.
The money involved has normalized it to the point where players with the stature of Brazilian superstar Neymar who choose to play in a league with crowds similar to those in the National League at the age of 31 effectively end their elite careers with barely a shrug.
Send a letter to the ECHO here to share your thoughts on everything LFC.
When players with such enviable reputations line up in the tunnel before kickoff, there must surely be more than a whiff of embarrassment—that is, until the pay stubs arrive, of course.
Who knows how long the Saudi Pro League will keep pushing for the biggest names in the game, but unlike earlier attempts to do so in China and Russia, the Gulf country’s finances, which are determined to diversify their wealth, make it a sustainable project for however long they wish.
For European football, that should be a frightening thought.
The main question is whether or not players who are accustomed to participating in the final stages of the biggest competitions actually get bored.
Consider Jordan Henderson’s thoughts as Al-Ettifaq suffered a 2-0 defeat to Al-Hilal over the weekend, during which time he toiled in a midfield three with Berat Ozdemir and Ali Abdullah Hazazi.
However, the wheels have been greased and it feels irrevocably like the start of the long goodbye for Salah, who will have just a year left on his deal next summer.
On Friday, Liverpool may have been able to withstand the numbers on the offer from champions Ittihad.
It seems unlikely that a contract that makes him the highest-paid player of all time at Anfield with £350,000 a week will be extended on those terms, and the summer transfer window of 2024 will represent the Reds’ last opportunity to get a sizable sum for a player who will be 32 in June next year.
Liverpool will fight to ensure that Salah does not leave in the coming week, even though it seems inevitable.
- Liverpool1 year ago
Liverpool player removed from Europa League squad by Jurgen Klopp
- Liverpool1 year ago
Liverpool analysis – Jurgen Klopp sends clear message to Wataru Endo as brutal new reality bites
- Liverpool1 year ago
Deal close – Liverpool have an agreement to sign a £26m Barcelona target
- Liverpool1 year ago
Jörg Schmadtke can exercise the third release clause in his $41 million transfer, to complete Liverpool’s midfield
- Liverpool1 year ago
Liverpool back to finally sign £30million player – Report
- Liverpool1 year ago
According to a report, Liverpool is ready to accept a £34m fee to hijack another signing.
- Liverpool1 year ago
Danny Murphy predicts a Liverpool player will become a “superstar”
- Liverpool1 year ago
Dominik Szoboszlai has already identified ‘dream’ number six transfer Liverpool should now pull off
Lebohang Khechane
September 4, 2023 at 2:27 pm
Hopefully Europeans will start to respect and stop racism to players