Of course, he could go to City, have a clause that ensures he starts every game, and then be total crap, thus helping us win the league.
I could forgive that.
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Where are these toads that everyones busy licking and dreaming up that Mo will go to another PL club?
Paris came in at the last minute though and offered him double what Barca were paying. And that , at the end of the day , is what itās all about for virtually all of them. , no matter how much we try and kid ourselves otherwise.
I still think he is most likely to sign another contract. Iām wondering if the delay is Sadio ManĆ© leaving and not wanting to upset the applecart until any summer signings have been settled.
The only good point when comparing Owen and him, is that Owen didnāt drastically strengthen a local rival.
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I donāt want a final year of his agent spouting this shit, and then with 5 Mo interviews throughout the year saying how much he respects the PL, how his family is settled in the UK, how itās the best league in the world, etc, all inferring that he would sign for a rival on a free. And all this in order to get Liverpool to give him what he wants (or closer). I just want a peaceful, productive year, and then he can go get his bumper payday in another league, or he can sign here for reduced terms (0% chance we will be able to match what he can get at a PSG, etc).
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Just want to play devils advocate and ponder the implications of destroying your relationship with the fans, for the player.
Say Mo leaves next summer. Hypothetically, letās imagine Newcastle give him stupid money, as they see him as the man to try to help them crack a European spot. He takes it on. Liverpool fans arenāt happy, as he goes to another Prem team on a free. We know what Mo did in a red shirt, and we appreciate him for that, but leaving for another Prem team sours the relationship somewhat.
From Moās perspective, how does that matter to him?
Grudging respect from Liverpool fans, when it could have been love? How will he tangibly know the difference? He wouldnāt be playing at Anfield apart from once a season. He goes back, is politely applauded, not cheered as enthusiastically as he might beā¦ how does any of that really matter to him?
He has his family, his friends, his career, his money. And now presumably he has the love of a new set of fans who appreciate what he is doing for their club.
I guess what Iām saying is I donāt think what fans think matters all that much, to the player.
Yes, be loved by the fans you play for. Iām sure that adds to the joy of it all, and I see that as important. But after you move on? Does the player care that much, especially if in this case heās not from Liverpool? He just moves on to a new city, new stadium, new fans, and itās just another step to do his thing, play his football, make his money, before retiring back in, presumably, Egypt? Or wherever else he wants to live in the world.
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To be fair, Barca became complicated. Their overtures were made from a regime untethered to financial reality. What they were offering clearly impacted his attitude to the offer he received from us, but when it came time to put figures to paper they were in the midst of a financial crisis that made it difficult to even even their own existing players, let alone acquire new ones on lucrative contracts. Gini found himself in a dead end.
They dont to most, but only because most dont find themselves in a situation like Mo is now. Unfortunately, it often takes hindsight for players to realise they were already in the best situation.
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Exactly this.
Mo seems to care a lot about individual awards. Put it like this, he wonāt ever have a statue outside Anfield (or elsewhere) if he signs for another PL club. End of story. He wonāt be feted and invited back as a key figure to celebrate future Liverpool victories like a Dalglish, Henderson or Rush. In retirement he will not start apart and tall amongst the Liverpool greats but just be one of many. Youāll be a very long time retired (you hope!) Mo, and that extra 20% wealth will not make up for that individual recognition that you seem to so crave.
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For all we know the hint of signing for another PL club could be purely down to the big guns in Europe not wanting him, or at least not prepared to pay him in monetary terms what he thinks he is worthā¦ Take PSG and Neymar for example, as far as reports indicate, the fans dislike him very much being in the side, so can you imagine the abuse he has to withstand on a personal level with them outside of footballing hoursā¦
This thing about PL options, presumably started by his dog turd of an agent, might just be the last play of squeezing better terms out of LFC before the inevitable signing of a new contract
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An excellent post, as are those that followed it.
We all know that almost everybody leaves in the end. Very few stay until the end of their top flight careers. Those that leave before their careers start to decline are respected, but they are not loved. In which group does Salah want to be in the future? With Suarez, Torres and, dare I say it, Owen? Or with Gerrard, Dalglish and Rush?
Time to decide, Mo. Love or money?
It will sound outrageous, but I will prefer if Salah leaves. His agent will continue to spout filth and with ManƩ gone and Firmino fading his output will drop.
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Thatās possible but itās not guaranteed. There is a possibility that we have seen the best of Mo, but perhaps after heās recovered from the disappointments of 2022 heāll be the Mo that we know.
Or maybe we should just sell and move on. On an emotional level it is difficult to decide what would be the right thing to do. My unemotional side says sell and move on, but then thereās the side that sees a statue outside the re-built Kop.
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Despite being aware of the contract situation, it never really struck me that losing Mane this summer was a possibility. That allowed me to get to a place of resignation about us moving on Mo this summer. We simply cannot afford to lose both of them at the same time, and if that means one season of uncertainty over Moās future, with him being revitalized and playing for his next contract before losing him for nothing next summer (one more year old and more year less worth committing big money to), then thatās likely for the best.
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I know, I wasnāt ready for that. ManĆ© wanting to leave hit me hardā¦and thatās on the back of a season-long uncertainty over whether Mo would stay
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If a big offer comes in for Mo and he is interested, I would sell this summer, even with Mane leaving. However, thatās unlikely to happen, as Mo has set his stall out to stay another year and maximize his earning potential via a Bosman deal, most likely.
im actually strangely calm about itā¦
ithink Jurgen has another 4 seasons is it?, 5ā¦even if its 6, i do have so much faith in him maybe its better to get the rebuild going ASAP, start the next great teamā¦i wonder if the dynamics in the change room might be better with three (reasonably) fresh faces, combining together to become the next great teamā¦
revolution, not evolution for once might be the better hand to have, these guys (Mane, Mo and Firmino) got to make thier own history, but maybe after carrying Klopps famous backpack of pressure, maybe, just maybe, they are now in that back packā¦
its not black and white, i can just see an angle where it might be more of a positive outcome to make it happen and make it happen quickly.
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Me trying to figure out how to get Bobby out of the backpack.
Anyway, I think I agree with the idea. What would have been shit is Klopp squeezing everything he can out of this group and then handing an old, knackered side off to someone new. I think where the idea of presenting this as a positive falls down a bit is that we already looked to be planning for evolution so the exists of the front 3 could be done organically, or at least in a way that didnt require revolution. I think no matter how highly we think of the other attacking players weāve brought in recently, losing Mane and Salah in the same summer is revolution.
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