Mohamed Salah could find himself in a situation come May whereby he has two hands on the Premier League title and one foot already out of the exit door at Liverpool.
The 32-year-old has brazenly thrown his future into doubt after revealing there have been no talks over extending his contract past the end of the season and is currently ‘more out than in’.
Salah is Liverpool’s best player and admittedly probably the Premier League’s top performer so far this season with 10 goals in 12 appearances proving crucial in taking the club to the top of the league.
But, any good feeling could quickly be eradicated with Salah currently in a position whereby he could agree a pre-contract with a European club in January if he decides against staying at Liverpool.
Jamie Carragher harshly slammed Salah’s contract omission to journalists after Liverpool’s weekend win at Southampton as ‘selfish’, and Salah’s Reds future has never looked more in doubt.
Mail Sport analyses where Salah could end up next and the chances of a transfer being struck as European and Middle Eastern giants circle.
Mohamed Salah could find himself leaving Liverpool on a free transfer at the end of the season
Salah has revealed he is yet to be approached over extending his current stay at Liverpool
Saudi Arabia (7/10)
The Saudi Pro League has splashed the cash on bringing former Premier League stars and European elites to the Middle East, but Mohamed Salah has always been the jewel they most badly crave.
It was at the start of Jurgen Klopp’s final season at the club when Al-Ittihad made several outrageous bids for the Egyptian that eventually totalled over £200m, but Liverpool stood firm.
Now, they have the possibility of signing Salah for free and will undoubtedly top-end his salary to even greater astronomical amounts if there is no fee required to be paid to Liverpool.
Such a move wouldn’t only hit supporters hard, but would be an embarrassment for Liverpool who previously rejected outrageous offers only to lose their best player for free less than two years later.
However, Salah has remained coy on moving to the Saudi Pro League which is now viewed as a luxury retirement destination for players seeking a career-best payday and Liverpool’s only saving grace may be that the Egyptian wants to keep playing at the top level.
Liverpool can offer that with Premier League and Champions League football, but they can’t even come close to offering the same salary that Saudi clubs can.
The Saudi Pro League have long been admirers of Salah and want him to join the league
Saudi side Al-Ittihad (pictured) previously had a £200m offer for Salah rejected by Liverpool
Barcelona (7/10)
The Catalan giants love a free transfer and Salah would be a massive coup for a club that has faced years of financial crisis but still manages to attract top talents with their world-renowned status.
Barcelona are amongst the contenders actively keeping an eye on the winger’s situation at Anfield, knowing that while they might no longer have the financial pull of other clubs, they do possess a stage that the greatest have previously called home.
Hansi Flick has transformed Barcelona’s on-pitch fortunes since taking over in the summer with the club four points clear at the top of LaLiga and in a strong position to qualify for the Champions League knockout stages – as are Liverpool.
The chance to play for arguably the world’s biggest team at a time when they are realistic challengers for major honours will be an attractive proposal to Salah who has starred in Italy and England but not Spain.
Spanish football also places less physical demands on players in contrast to the Premier League and this could be another factor that Salah considers knowing he only has a few years remaining at the top level.
Salah in a Barcelona shirt next season? It’s not unthinkable and could be the perfect move for both club and player.
Salah could be keen on a move to Barcelona where Hansi Flick (right) has turned around the club’s fortunes
Barcelona are amongst the contenders actively keeping an eye on the winger’s situation at Anfield
Juventus (4/10)
The Italian outfit have long been chasing Salah and previously – although unsuccessfully – tried to lure him away from Liverpool on several occasions.
Throwback to 2019 and Juventus presented a £44m plus Paulo Dybala offer in exchange for Salah only for Liverpool to dismiss their interest without even a second thought.
Then just three years later the Italian club again returned to the boardroom and this time tried to tempt the 32-year-old with a £10m-per-year contract at a time when he was teasing a possible exit before eventually signing a new contract.
Now, Juventus are back flirting with the idea of bringing one of the world’s best players to Turin again, only this time they aren’t the leading club in Italy and are going through a huge rebuilding phase.
Salah would have to lower his salary demands and accept that he won’t be joining a club challenging for top honours anytime soon, but then again maybe the chance at leading Juventus’ revolution might be an attractive proposal as it once was with Cristiano Ronaldo.
An unlikely move and if Juventus enter the race for his signature then expect other Italian clubs with more recent success to do so as well.
Juventus have long been chasing Salah and previously – although unsuccessfully – tried to lure him away from Liverpool
PSG (5/10)
Paris Saint-Germain have just unveiled their new state-of-the-art training campus which puts Premier League club’s to shame and is already proving to be an influential factor in convincing top talents to join the club.
A move for Salah is being considered in the wake of the Liverpool icon’s contract revelation and PSG possess the financial backing to offer him a lucrative deal that also virtually guarantees Champions League football every season.
The reigning Ligue 1 champions have a long-held ambition to win the Champions League and have come close in recent years but ultimately fallen short, being beat in the 2020 final by Bayern Munich was a real hammer blow.
PSG have departed from their previous recruitment strategy of bringing in big names such as Neymar and Lionel Messi and instead have a renewed focus on promoting youth talents and getting the most out of players with elite potential.
However, Salah could be the missing key in a team that has struggled for goals since Kylian Mbappe’s summer departure and his individual ambitions might match perfectly to PSG’s targets.
The only sticking point could be Salah’s willingness to play in a French league that is far easier than the English top-flight.
Salah could be tempted by a lucrative move to PSG that virtually guarantees Champions League football every season
Salah could be the missing key in a PSG team that has struggled for goals since Kylian Mbappe’s summer departure
Arsenal, Chelsea or Man City (3/10)
Even thinking of Salah joining another Premier League team will leave a sickly taste in the mouth of Liverpool supporters, but if he is available on a free transfer then it would be ludicrous not to think other English clubs would be interested.
Arsenal, Chelsea and Man City will be the best positioned to take advantage of Salah’s time-ticking future with each club able to offer him tantalising offers to remain in the Premier League.
Chelsea are on the rise and a Blues team featuring Cole Palmer and Salah will leave rival managers shuddering – not to mention the huge salary they could offer that would likely trump Liverpool.
Arsenal have been Man City’s biggest challengers in recent seasons and Salah could be the final cog in Mikel Arteta’s attack that will take them to Premier League glory.
Meanwhile, Salah loves scoring against City and swapping to Manchester to work under Pep Guardiola could guarantee Salah several more top honours that have been harder to come by at Anfield.
