Three of Liverpool’s most valuable assets could leave the club for nothing this summer – and one prominent sports lawyer has explained why Mohamed Salah could be the most likely to go
Prominent sports lawyer Daniel Geey has explained the “cynical” reason Mohamed Salah could be set for a Liverpool departure this summer. And it may go some way to explaining why the Reds talisman is having such a vintage campaign at the age of 32.
Salah – who is understood to earn a £350,000-a-week base salary at Anfield – will see his contract expire this summer, with no immediate sign an extension is on the horizon. And his exit could be just the start of the exodus, with Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold’s deals also due to run out in only a few months.
Geey – who is a partner in the Sport Group at London law firm Sheridans – cited Liverpool’s policy of not renewing the deals of players over 30 being a big factor in Salah’s situation. Calls to extend the contracts of Salah and Van Dijk, in particular, have grown as they spearhead Arne Slot’s drive to win the Premier League title, but Geey noted another issue therein.
Liverpool have been paying these three players at an undervalue for the last 18 months or so,” said Geey on The Overlap Fan Debate with Sky Bet. “Whatever Salah was worth three years ago, he might be worth a lot more now in terms of his performance levels.
“And then there’s another, more cynical view. There’s a lot of data research suggesting players looking to renew their deals actually overperform in the season of the renewal and massively underperform in the couple of seasons after that renewal.
So I wouldn’t put it past them at all for [chief executive Michael] Edwards, [sporting director Richard] Hughes and [technical director Julian] Ward to be playing an absolute blinder. It’ll all be determined at the end of the season if they play well or not and win the league and Champions League.”
It’s an intriguing notion that Salah – who leads the race for the Premier League Golden Boot on 23 goals this season – has consciously raised his levels so drastically this term. Then again, it could simply be the case that new manager Slot is getting more out of the player than Jurgen Klopp did in recent campaigns, at least in terms of direct goal contributions.
Alexander-Arnold has been closely linked with a move to join Jude Bellingham at Real Madrid, while Barcelona and Saudi side Al-Nassr have been touted to move for Van Dijk. Asked for his take on who was the most likely to leave Liverpool this summer, Geey was left with one answer.
“[I’m a] terrible betting man, but if I was gonna go, I would go with Van Dijk,” he said. “I think Trent is 50/50. I think Salah is more likely to go.”
Jamie Carragher fired back by saying he “didn’t want to hear that,” just like many of the other thousands of Liverpool fans listening. However, the logic perhaps checks out, considering Alexander-Arnold’s age profile makes him more viable for an extension, while Van Dijk – who is reportedly Liverpool’s second-highest earner on £220,000 a week – could be more cost-effective than Salah.
As he prepares to turn 33 in June, Salah is showcasing the kind of longevity to suggest perhaps he could keep producing these same figures for another two of three years. But it’s the kind of risk – and an expensive one at that – Liverpool may not be willing to take.
