Whenever a player emerges as one of the world’s best, they always end up being linked with the top European clubs. It’s inevitable.
This season, Mohamed Salah has become one of the hottest names in world football thanks to his sensational campaign with Liverpool. Salah has only been at Anfield for one season, following his move from Italian club Roma last summer, but he settled instantly and has been arguably the best player in Europe this season.
Salah’s stats speak for themselves as he’s provided 32 goals and 15 assists so far this campaign to fire Liverpool to the Champions League final and it’s led to him scooping a host of awards, including the PFA Player of the Year.
However, predictably, his form has also led to speculation linking him with a move this summer.
Madrid’s Interest
Given his form, there aren’t many clubs who could realistically afford to buy Salah – if Liverpool were daft enough to sell. Perhaps only Real Madrid, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain could pay the kind of money it would take to persuade Liverpool in cash-in. Man Utd too, but there’s no way Liverpool would do business with their north-west rivals.
However, it’s Zinedine Zidane’s Real Madrid who are coveting Salah’s signature this summer, according to the media, as there has been widespread rumours linking the Egyptian international with a move to the Bernabeu in recent weeks.
Some fans believe Madrid’s supposed interest in the player is way of unsettling Salah before the Champions League final and they may have a point. Salah is Liverpool’s most dangerous player and Madrid know if they can keep him quiet for 90 minutes, they have a better chance of winning the Champions League again this season.
Perez Often Gets His Man
Liverpool clearly want to keep their star man but when Real Madrid come calling, history shows they often get their man. When Los Blancos made a move for Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United managed to keep hold of the Portuguese superstar for one more season on the promise he would move to the Spanish capital the following year.
There was very little United could do to keep their best player at Old Trafford and Madrid President Florentino Perez has managed to land the likes of Kaka, Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo and Gareth Bale over the years so no doubt the Spaniards are quietly confident of adding Salah to the list.
Salah to stay
However, Salah has made it clear that he’s committed to Liverpool and will remain at the club for years to come. Speaking after collecting the Football Writers’ Association’s Footballer of the Year award on Thursday night, Salah told reporters that he’s very happy at Liverpool and has ‘ambitions for the future’ with the club.
“I’m very happy here. I’m very happy and everything is fine. Of course, I have got ambitions for the future with Liverpool. As you can see we had a great season and now we are in the Champions League final and everyone is excited. It’s just the start. This is my first year here and it is the same for some other players. We have had an unbelievable year.“ Mo Salah
The 25-year-old has done his best to squash any speculation surrounding his future ahead of the biggest game of his career. It won’t stop the media from linking Salah with a move to Madrid, but the reality is he’s happy at Anfield, under contract until 2022 and Liverpool have no desire or need to sell. Jurgen Klopp is building something special at Anfield, so expect Salah to stay at Liverpool beyond this summer, despite Madrid’s best attempts to unsettle him.
