If Mohamed Salah is ready to accept a new one-year contract at Liverpool, as The Athletic revealed earlier today, Fenway Sports Group (FSG) need waste no more time. This really is a no-brainer.
In a week when Liverpool beat European champions Real Madrid and reigning Premier League winners Manchester City to continue a dream start to the season, Salah’s contract situation continues to cast a cloud.
It all feels so unnecessary. Salah has made it clear his priority is to stay at Liverpool — he said as much in his short interview with reporters after helping Liverpool defeat Southampton 3-2 on November 24 — but while the club remain insistent that talks are positive and ongoing, Salah clearly doesn’t feel the same way.
His numbers so far this season have been exceptional even by his sky-high standards: 13 goals and 11 assists in 20 matches in all competitions. He continues to be Liverpool’s match-winner, grabbing a goal and an assist in the 2-0 victory over City to extend his side’s advantage at the top of the table to nine points.
As the contract situation has rumbled on, so much speculation has swirled around what Salah would want, what Liverpool would offer him, and whether a compromise could be reached.
Contract length was always thought to be a potential stumbling block; FSG has always been cautious about offering lucrative long-term contracts to players over the age of 30. It is a sensible idea, tying into their sustainable business model, because as players get older, they eventually begin to decline.
Salah seals victory against City on Sunday (Carl Recine/Getty Images)
But Salah is no ordinary 32-year-old. His physical condition is freakishly good (a point he made himself by pointedly taking off his shirt after scoring the winner at St Mary’s) and his numbers are equally so. If anything, his level has gone up compared to recent seasons.
If Salah was demanding a three-year contract, which would take him to 36, you could understand FSG’s reticence. If his decline kicks in, say, the season after next, FSG would not want a 34-year-old sitting on the bench — or the treatment table — for two years, eating up a sizeable chunk of the wage budget.
Trying to project Salah’s future form and fitness will form part of Liverpool’s thinking when they are trying to decide the best deal for themselves — but a one-year contract extension would mitigate any risk.
The worst-case scenario is that if Salah does suffer a dramatic decline in 2025-26, all parties can shake hands and he can depart on good terms. If he continues to thrive, then Liverpool can have this conversation again in a year.
It also gives the club extra planning time to identify the Egyptian’s successor. The recruitment department’s reconstruction — including the return of Michael Edwards as FSG’s CEO of football, Richard Hughes’ arrival as Liverpool’s director of football and the departure of director of scouting and recruitment Dave Fallows — will have to get it right, and more time should allow them to make a more informed decision.
It would appear to be the perfect compromise, provided Salah’s wage demands are not prohibitively outlandish. No club should simply cave to whatever players demand — although it is difficult to argue that Salah doesn’t deserve top dollar. He has been arguably the Premier League’s standout player this season and is one of the world’s most in-form players. He believes he is still approaching his peak and has several years left at the top level. It is difficult to argue against him.
Salah is a unique footballer. Replacing his output and impact on games is a treacherous task, and the costs of the potential transfer fee and wages would exceed any one-year contract Salah signed. An additional 12-month option could make the most economic sense, but a one-year deal may also further stoke Salah’s desire to prove he deserves another extension again. A fired-up Salah — as the Premier League has seen this season — is one Liverpool’s opposition should fear.
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The drawback is a short extension means these contract games will likely happen again. The disquiet among supporters — illustrated by Salah’s new banner on The Kop, calling for FSG to give him his “dough” — will return when another decision has to be made.
Even so, it still feels the best solution for both the short and long term, helping keep Liverpool on course for glory at home and abroad this season — not to mention Salah’s own desire to be recognised globally with a Ballon d’Or trophy — while removing the sense of urgency around bringing in his ultimate successor.
It feels like everyone would win. So what is FSG waiting for?
(Top photo: MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
