Mohamed Salah issues major update on post-Klopp Liverpool future amid ‘signed’ Saudi Arabia rumours
Mohamed Salah has insisted that Jurgen Klopp’s impending departure will have no impact on his own Liverpool future amid rumours that he has already signed a contract to play in Saudi Arabia next season.
Klopp announced in January that he will step down from his post at the end of the current campaign, having overseen Liverpool’s most successful spell of the Premier League era since his appointment in October 2015.
The German memorably ended Liverpool’s 30-year wait for a league title in 2020, 12 months after securing the club’s sixth Champions League title.
Klopp’s unexpected departure is likely to lead to speculation over the future of Liverpool’s key players, with captain Virgil van Dijk raising doubts over his own future days after Klopp’s bombshell announcement.
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“That’s a big question,” Van Dijk responded when asked if he saw himself staying at Liverpool after Klopp’s exit. “Well, I don’t know.”
The Dutch defender later claimed his comments had been “taken out of context” and that he is “fully committed” to Liverpool.
Having registered 205 goals and 89 assists in 334 appearances since his arrival from Roma in the summer of 2017, Salah rivals Van Dijk as one of the most important signings of the Klopp era.
The Egyptian forward, who will enter the final year of his contract this summer, has been heavily linked with a move to Saudi Arabia since last summer, when Al-Ittihad reportedly had two separate bids – totalling £150million and £215m – rejected by Liverpool.
The 31-year-old’s compatriot, former Tottenham Hotspur striker Mido, claimed recently that Salah “will be in the Saudi League next season” with contracts already “signed.”
Ahead of Liverpool’s huge clash with reigning Premier League champions Manchester City on Sunday, Salah has insisted Klopp’s departure is simply “part of life now.”
Asked by Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher if Klopp’s exit will affect his plans, Salah told Sky Sports: “No, no.
“It’s life. It’s part of life now, everything moves. Players left the club already, very important players left the club.
“The manager is also very important for the club, but he’s leaving the club.
“One day I will leave the club, but no [Klopp’s departure won’t affect my future].”
Salah explained how he came to learn of the news of Klopp’s departure on January 26, with Van Dijk breaking the news to him after a surprise meeting was arranged for 10:30am that morning.
He said: “Usually we don’t do meetings at 10.30am, as 10.30 is the report time.
“It’s normally a 10.30 meet time and then 12 noon training. Then they said there was a meeting at 10.30am. I was like: ‘What?’
“The manager’s agent was there at the training ground and I thought: ‘Oh, he’s renewing his contract.’
“And five minutes before the meeting, Virgil said: ‘Do you know what the meeting is about?’
“I said no. He said: ‘The manager is leaving.’
“I said: ‘Really, the manager is leaving? You serious? Why?’
“He said: ‘No idea.’
“Then the manager came in and he just said it and it was weird because no-one knew before. There was nothing in the media.
“He didn’t even prepare us for that, he just said it. That was a weird day for us and for the club.”
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