Barcelona and Real Madrid have reportedly both been given fresh hope in their pursuit of Liverpool star Mohamed Salah.
A report from 90min suggests the club and player are still ‘some way apart’ on a new contract for the player as the Spanish giants both keep an eye on his situation.
Salah has been amongst the world’s best players for several years now, so it’s no surprise to see football’s elite circling around the Egyptian as contract talks continue to stutter.
With both Barcelona and Real Madrid in somewhat of a rebuild since the departures of Messi and Ronaldo respectively, their pursuit of the next superstar is hotter than ever. The emergence of Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland will surely become a generational battle for years to come, but for now, Salah certainly stands as an established superstar, in the prime years of his career – but does he have what it takes to become a Galactico or a like-for-like replacement for Messi in Barcelona?
Madrid have tried on many occasions to replace the void left by Cristiano Ronaldo – Bale was deemed a transitional piece to take the reins and become Ronaldo’s successor, yet his time at the Bernabeu is likely to come to an end this season. The same can be said for Eden Hazard, who was brought in almost directly after Ronaldo’s departure but has failed to make any real impact. However, with the emergence of Vinicius Jr and the re-emergence of veteran, Karim Benzema as a top goalscorer, Salah could be the final piece to another Real Madrid big three for the coming years.
A similar situation arises on the other side of Spain. Xavi has his own rebuild underway, and with Depay rumoured to be departing, Dembele discovering some form, and Aubameyang hitting the ground running, Salah’s wand of a left-foot may be the closest thing left to Messi in world football, and would arguably make an ideal signing should the Catalan club have the finances to pull it off.