Mohamed Salah holds all the cards in Liverpool contract dispute - the next step is obvious

Liverpool have backed themselves into a corner by not agreeing a new contract for Mohamed Salah - and the Egyptian's brilliant form is only making his case even stronger

Liverpool need Mo Salah more than Mo Salah needs Liverpool.

And if I was in the Egyptian king’s shoes, I would wait until the end of the season before deciding whether to stay at Anfield.

Let’s get it straight: Salah is one of Liverpool’s greatest-ever players, up there with Kenny Dalglish and Ian Rush among the finest strikers in their history. If they wanted to go out and sign a replacement who would score 223 goals in seven years for the club – most of them from a wide position – it would probably cost them £150 million.

The bottom line is that Salah is under no obligation to sign a new contract. Anyone preaching loyalty, and predicting that Salah will stay at Liverpool, should understand that loyalty doesn’t exist in football.

Just as players sometimes hold all the cards in contract talks, clubs can lever them out of the door if it suits them. It’s a two-way street. And Salah has not been attached to Liverpool since birth. He is not a one-club man like Gary Neville or Jamie Carragher back in the day.

What is unusual about Salah’s case is his decision to go public, and express his disappointment that Liverpool have yet to put a formal contract offer in front of him, just five weeks before he is entitled to talk to other clubs abroad.

At 32, he is still in fantastic physical shape. When he ripped his shirt off after scoring the winner at Southampton, that six-pack was the condition of a player who has looked after himself incredibly well.

And if he leaves Anfield, I would not take it for granted that Salah will go to Saudi Arabia. He is still lethal enough to go to Real Madrid or Barcelona. If Robert Lewandowski can score goals for Barca every week at 36, Salah is definitely young enough to succeed in La Liga.

Liverpool have replaced great players and prospered in the past. When Kevin Keegan left for Hamburg in 1977, Dalglish was his replacement, and although Steven Gerrard never won the title, Jordan Henderson came in and wore the crown five years ago.

I don’t believe that money alone is the solution to Liverpool’s puzzle. Salah already is a rich man. He has made enough money to last several lifetimes. And don’t forget: His current contract was signed and sealed in 2022 after 12 months of negotiations. There is a precedent for the current suspense.

HAVE YOUR SAY! What should Liverpool do with Mo Salah? Comment below.

Salah has already won the Champions League (in 2019) and the title (a year later) with Liverpool, and if he wins either (or both) of them again this season, he may feel there are no horizons left for him to conquer at Anfield. That’s why my hunch is that he will wait until the end of the season before choosing his preferred option.

A few years ago, when Jadon Sancho was flying at Borussia Dortmund, I said I would take Sancho ahead of Salah – I got that one completely wrong. Salah has been one of the greatest players of the Premier League era.

That’s why I repeat: Liverpool need Salah more than Salah needs Liverpool.

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