Liverpool‘s pre-season preparations have got off to the perfect start after Mohamed Salah signed a new long-term contract.
The Egypt international is currently on holiday after playing at the World Cup but he has ended any discussion about his future after Liverpool ripped up his old terms and rewarded him with a deal that reflects his standing as one of the top players in Europe.
Salah, who had initially signed a deal worth around £100,000-per-week when he moved to Anfield from Roma 12 months ago, will now be one of Liverpool’s highest earners and having scored 44 goals in all competitions can expect to have doubled that figure.
Manager Jurgen Klopp has already targeted an improvement on last season, when the club reached the Champions League final and finished in the top four.
It had long been a priority for Liverpool to reward Salah for his outstanding debut campaign. His tally of 32 goals in the Premier League broke a record for a 38-game campaign and he was instrumental in helping his side reach the Champions League final.
Real Madrid, who beat Liverpool 3-1 in Kiev, had been persistently linked with Salah for a long period but Liverpool have a strong relationship with Salah’s agent Ramy Abbas Issa and negotiations between him and sporting director Michael Edwards were smooth.
The new terms will keep Salah at Anfield until the summer of 2023 and, crucially, there is no release clause.
It is now Liverpool’s policy when brokering deals with their players that release clauses are not included — that was a reason Emre Can chose not to renew his terms.
Klopp believes Salah’s new deal symbolises Liverpool’s bright future: ‘I think this news can be seen for what it is; rewarding a person who performed and contributed greatly for the team and the club last season.
‘It demonstrates two things very clearly also – his belief in Liverpool and our belief in him.
‘We want world-class talent to see they have a home at Anfield where they can fulfil all their professional dreams and ambitions – we are working hard together to achieve this.
‘When someone like Mo Salah commits and says this place is my home now, it speaks very loudly I think.
‘Equally, our commitment to him says we see his value and want him to grow even more and get even better within our environment.
‘The key thing to remember is the best thing about Mo is that he never sees himself as being more important than the team or anyone else within it. He recognises his team-mates and this club helped him achieve individual success last season. He sees the individual awards come because he is part of something bigger that is special.
‘Mo reflects where we are as a team, I think. Last season was special with many special moments – but we want more.
‘We want to be more successful and achieve more together – as the supporters sang so loudly, “we’re never gonna stop”. This has to be the attitude individually and collectively.’
READ ALSO:
Ten explanations for Germany’s calamitous World Cup campaign
France prefer Argentina in the Round of 16 rather than Croatia
Captain Kane scores dramatic injury-time winner to earn three points for England
