Not sure anybody would know what his motivation is apart from him and anyone he has told.
Might be he wants to play for Real, not because he will win anything, but just because it’s Real.
I would like to think he’s happy here and would stay if he got a contract that he felt was representative of what he brings to the club, but I have no idea.
And from the club point of view, cashing in on a big player could be want they want in the next two sunmmers. If we can sell for £200m and buy a younger replacement for £50m, I can see why the owners would do that, even if it isn’t what I would do.
Didn’t they offer something nuts like €200m for Mbappe in the final week of the window?
Now that might have been some posturing on their part but they’re a club that will always find money if they think there’s a superstar worth adding. The real question is, could they afford both Mbappe wages and a fee for Salah plus his wages in one summer?
They have several high earners dropping off their wage bill next summer, and their finances will have started recovering from the impact of Covid, which should create some extra room for wages. Like you say, when they really want someone they find the money.
I think if we don’t agree a new contract for Mo in the next few months, we’ll lose him next summer. Somehow, I don’t think we’ll get near to what his agent will demand, maximum offer will be near to £300k a week.
I don’t see that as being a credible concern. We’re yet to see them look to actively sell a key player under Klopp over keeping them, and his stats/ level of performances are incredible. Salah would have to be wanting that move for them to look to sell him.
As for replacement, they are not going to be cheapskates about it. There is a lot of scope for paying a lower wage than Salah would receive under any new contract and still paying a top wage.
We appear to have a great squad right now, with little need to spend big unless we see key players leave, with a good mix of world class starters, quality back up capable of fighting for a starting spot and a number of them youngsters.
Yeah, worth remembering that in the Coutinho situation it was the boardroom position that we should tell Barca to fuck off and Klopp who argued that if his head was already gone we gained nothing by turning down the money.
FSG have never engaged in asset stripping. From what I can see the biggest gripe fans have about them is that they havent kept up with City Chelsea and United in spending, which is quite an unreasonable gripe.
They’ve added extra seating to Anfield and they’re expanding it further. They’ve gotten rid of the worst of our long term debt. They’ve invested in Kirkby. They got us Klopp!
Despite their recent gaffes I hope they stay around. They know how to run things well in the background which is a virtuous cycle. The whole FSG management philosophy is a lot more valuable than people give it credit for and certainly more valuable in the long run than individual players.
Also we weren’t a PL and CL winning team then. There’s no footballing reason for Mo’s head to be turned. He has a better chance of winning team and personal honours here, especially with a team that knows him and to some extent is set up to maximise his strengths
All this will be coming from his agent, this is possibly his last big pay cheque via Mo. He’ll be ensuring he gets the same amount from renewing at Liverpool than he would get elsewhere.
Can’t begrudge him a last big pay cheque, especially when negotiations are occurring simultaneous to a general consensus that he’s the best player in the world. But not sure he will need the ‘same amount’ as elsewhere. I’m sure he will be considering other footballing and family factors
Amazes me these days why players have agents.
Id like to think Id be able to sort my own. Id know what I want so I wouldn’t need to pay someone millions to sort it.
Do people really think Salah would go to Newcastle? That’s never happening. He might want more money but he aint stupid.
Someone made a good point on radio today when Chelsea and City were bought they finished 4th and 9th respectively the previous season.
Newcastle are 3rd bottom with 0 wins and in a relegation battle. No top player is going there for a good few years.