Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City are the only clubs in world football that could afford the wages of Mohamed Salah.
Via The Athletic UK’s YouTube channel, journalist James Pearce, who works as The Athletic’s Liverpool writer, said that he believed only two clubs in world football could afford to pay the wages that Salah would demand if he could not agree to a new contract with Liverpool.
According to Pearce, Salah is after wages that match those of Manchester City counterparts Kevin De Bruyne and Jack Grealish which would place his demands in the £300,000 to £400,000 bracket.
The 29-year-old’s contract runs out in the summer of 2023, but Pearce is confident that panic stations are far away in terms of getting a renewal for him.
Pearce also considered who could afford to take Salah on should he leave Liverpool next summer or the year after.
He said: “There’s always been this talk of Spain being this next step for Salah… and he’s been open with the prospect of joining one of the Spanish giants but I’m not even sure that door is open anymore.
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“You look at the financial problems at Barcelona. There’s no way they could afford even the fee next summer with the salary.
“Then of course there’s Real Madrid who everyone expects to get (Kylian) Mbappe next summer. Clearly, they’re not going to be able to get Salah as well.
“So who does that leave? That leaves probably Manchester City and PSG as the only clubs in world football who could probably afford his wages.”
You can watch the full video on The Athletic UK’s YouTube channel below.
Salah has been in terrific form this season, scoring nine times in as many games in the Premier League and Champions League. And with his form as good as it is he can most likely afford to be a bit pushy with his demands.
However, Liverpool’s owners FSG have been known to be quite pragmatic at times. Georginio Wijnaldum left the club on a free transfer in the summer after failing to agree to a contract. FSG have also been quite ruthless in US Baseball with the franchise they own called the Boston Red Sox, allowing star player Mookie Betts to leave after failing to agree to a new contract.
Liverpool have recently secured new long term contracts for a host of key players, including Virgil van Dijk, Jordan Henderson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alisson Becker, Fabinho and Andrew Robertson, so Salah is just the latest in the line to have his contract negotiated.
There is plenty of time before his contract runs out, and Pearce has said he believes there is no reason for Liverpool to feel worried yet.
Salah at City would be quite something, though, as one imagines Pep Guardiola would love him to come in as his long-term replacement for the goals of Sergio Aguero, whilst also hurting their biggest title rival in the process.