Mohamed Salah finds himself at the center of a long-running saga regarding his future intentions at Liverpool, with the Egyptian’s agent doing little to curb the endless rounds of speculation with his activity on social media.
As things stand, the superstar performer at Anfield – with 148 goals for the Reds to his name – is only tied to a contract through the summer of 2023. The club obviously wishes to re-sign him to a new deal, but Salah and his agent are likely holding out for top dollar, as Salah's importance to the Reds becomes clearer by the day.
There has been plenty of discussion regarding fresh terms, as well as the player's salary demands, and no paperwork has been signed as yet to keep the rumor mill ticking over.
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Salah's agent has further stoked the fire with a cryptic message on social media that fans flocked to the replies and message boards to discuss.
What did Salah's agent post?
Ramy Abbas Issa is the man charged with the task of managing Salah’s career off the field. He helped to thrash out fresh terms for his client on Merseyside back in 2018 after a 44-goal debut campaign saw a new fan favorite emerge at Anfield.
Issa has been involved in further discussions over recent months, but is yet to see an offer tabled that suits all parties.
He has now posted an image on social media that has got supporters around the world reading between the lines of what his message might be.
— Ramy Abbas Issa (@RamyCol) January 20, 2022
Flushing out the meaning of the post, fans have come to a few conclusions and theories.
The image in question is clearly an old one, as Liverpool switched from New Balance to Nike as their kit manufacturer in 2020. It is, therefore, not considered to be a hint that Salah has agreed the deal that Reds supporters are longing for.
Instead, fans and media are suggesting that Issa is cryptically hinting at the terms currently on offer being considered laughable.
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It also could be a response from Salah's camp to a pair of reports from Wednesday. The first surfaced on Twitter that Salah has agreed to a new deal, rejecting a massive offer from Paris Saint-Germain. The report is from unverified Twitter user @indykaila, a self-proclaimed transfer insider with over 340,000 followers. The second came from Sports Illustrated-affiliated site LFC Transfer Room which revealed Salah's wage demands as around $550,000 per week, or a whopping $28.6 million per year, which would equal Manchester City's Kevin de Bruyne.
The image could be a cryptic message from Salah's agent laughing off one of those as a false report.
Maybe there is nothing to it and – with Salah currently away with his country at the Africa Cup of Nations – the representative of the global icon is merely looking to stir the pot before a more definitive announcement on future plans is made, or, even more simply, he wanted to post an image of a happy Salah enjoying life at Anfield. Still, it seems more likely a post with clear intent than one with harmless and innocent context.
Context for Salah's contract negotiations
Salah's contract expires in the summer of 2023, meaning that if he reaches the end of this season without agreeing to an extension, Salah would be entering the final year of his contract.
Should the Egyptian make it to next January without an extension, he could reach a pre-contract agreement with another club, seeing the Egyptian leave Anfield for free. That would be a cataclysmic loss for Liverpool, with Salah playing as one of the best players in the world — if not the best.
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Salah has scored 148 goals and assisted 56 more in 229 matches for Liverpool across all competitions, giving him nearly a goal contribution per match during his time at Anfield. This season, Salah equaled Jamie Vardy's mark of 15 straight matches with a goal contribution, a streak which included an incredible 14 goals and seven assists.
Since Salah and teammate Sadio Mane departed for the Africa Cup of Nations, Liverpool has looked toothless up front, only serving to further confirm Salah's importance to the squad. The Egyptian has also won a number of awards during his time at Anfield.
From Liverpool's perspective, the club will need to be careful about its offer. Seeing Salah depart either this summer for a fee or next year for free would be a massive blow to the club's short-term plans, and supporters would be outraged at the departure of a fan favorite.
Still, with Salah turning 30 this summer, a long-term contract would see Salah paid wages befitting of a top European star well past his prime, and while he surely would be worth the money in the near future, a potential decline down the road could see big money locked up in an aging star.