Pundit suggests some in Liverpool ‘ownership structure’ wanted Salah gone for huge fee
Gab Marcotti has suggested “some people in the Liverpool ownership structure” may have wanted Mohamed Salah to “have gone” this summer so they could have received a huge fee.
Salah has been one of not only the Reds’ best players, but one of the best players in the Premier League for years. In just his first season with Liverpool, he bagged an astonishing 32 goals, to go along with 11 assists.
His goals tally for the Reds currently stands at 188 from 309 games, with 81 assists sprinkled in. After years of benefitting from Salah’s top performances, Liverpool could have seen the back of him this summer.
He was the latest top talent in Europe to be pursued by a Saudi side – after an exodus to the Saudi Pro League – with Al-Ittihad registering an interest in him, and bidding north of £100million for his services.
While it was suggested they could raise that offer to £200million, nothing came of it, perhaps partly because the Reds had made it clear they would not sell the Egyptian star after rejecting the initial offer.
Marcotti has suggested there were likely some people high up at Liverpool that wanted him to go so that they received a huge figure.
“And despite clubs in Saudi Arabia trying to bring him across, he opted to stay at least another year. Maybe there are some people in the Liverpool ownership structure that wish he would have gone and had the money, instead,” Marcotti told ESPN FC.
He believes Salah has displayed loyalty to the club, and will have the respect of Liverpool fans for that.
“But, this way, he cements his role as an Anfield hero and not leaving Jurgen Klopp high and dry,” Marcotti added.
“I put him in there [as one of the biggest winners of the transfer window] because, guess what? He and his agent were true to their word,” said Marcotti.
“Ramy Abbas coming out a month and a half ago saying ‘listen, if he was going to move to Saudi for the money, he would already be there. Chill out. Don’t worry about it. He is going to stay’.”
Whether he retains that respect if he leaves next summer remains to be seen. After such a good spell at Liverpool, the fans will surely always have a soft spot for him, and will know he’ll have to leave at some point, but will also be glad it wasn’t now.
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