Why did Liverpool renew Mo Salah's contract? One theory stands out

Why did Liverpool renew Mohamed Salah’s contract?

It’s a question we are now entitled to ask - especially in the context of how he’s been treated by the club of late.

Salah, 33, had a deal which was due to expire in summer 2025. Many fans - and presumably the club themselves - fretted over the Egyptian King’s future all throughout the 2024/25 season.

He was scoring goals left, right and centre - 29 overall in the Premier League - and laying on countless chances for his teammates.

In the end he finished with another 18 assists - his totals being sufficient to carry off the league’s top goalscoring and playmaking awards.

If Salah was playing for another contract then he certainly earned it through his numbers. But his treatment thus far this season suggests Richard Hughes and Arne Slot don’t believe they are getting value for money from the all-time great.

Salah suffering from Liverpool disruption

It must be said that eyebrows were raised when the overall package was announced upon Salah’s eventual renewal. He would be tied to the Anfield club until 2027 - earning £400k per week in the process.

Those numbers suit a peak talent - and a world-class player. But Salah was just about to turn 33 when he signed. He will be 35 by the time the deal expires. There aren’t that many 35-year-old wingers out there these days - not least one playing for a top club.

And you will scour the top five leagues for a forward player that age earning anything close to what Salah is bringing home.

Right now we must admit that Salah isn’t playing like a £20m per year forward. Haaland by comparison is averaging very, very close to a goal a game this season for his mammoth paycheck. Salah isn’t.

Nor was he ever likely to repeat last season’s exploits. Given the wholesale disruption which took place across the club last summer it would have taken a monumental effort to sustain that output.

Then you need to factor in what was always due to happen in Salah’s international career this season.

Salah's gruelling Egyptian season

The Pharaoh talisman is no doubt closing in on the end of his playing days. The missing piece of the jigsaw in his trophy cabinet is of course the Africa Cup of Nations.

He will be desperate to finally right that wrong.

For three Afcon tournaments in a row - prior to Salah’s arrival on the scene - everything Egypt touched turned to gold. But it will be 16 barren years by the time the tournament concludes in January.

His participation at Afcon was always likely to rule him out for a month or even more. That’s £2m from the latest renewal that Liverpool won’t be seeing any value out of.

Then there’s the FIFA World Cup.

Egypt missed out in 2022 - and back in 2018 - when Salah was at his undoubted peak - he was recovering from the injury inflicted upon him by Sergio Ramos.

His national team NEED him - and he in turn has a great chance to definitively etch his name in the country’s collective football history. And if Salah plans to be fresh for the World Cup then it’s going to take a toll.

He will be returning to Anfield exhausted - and at the age of 34 rolling straight into another gruelling season.

Do Liverpool want to sell Salah?

If this was the profile of a potential new signing - a 33-year-old winger whose form tailed off towards the end of the season and whose pay packet is £400k per week and who will be playing TWO international tournaments in 12 months - then do you really think Liverpool’s data specialists woud sign him?

Of course not - and his previous output would count for precisely nothing.

So what gives? Why exactly did Richard Hughes see fit to offer Salah a two-year £40m deal when the stakes were so high?

Maybe Liverpool didn’t want to wave Salah goodbye without banking a fee. Last summer he would have left for nothing - entitled to choose his next club.

By signing him up for two more years the Reds have protected their investment. Even at 33, Salah is a hot property - especially for Saudi teams desperate for the publicity boost he would bring.

There is a premium for that - either in January or else next summer. So the club might have always assumed that Salah wouldn’t see out all of his contract until 2027 - and instead planned to offload him to any team willing to pay a decent transfer fee.

Given the wages it will take quite a lot to cover that expense as well as a transfer fee so it is a very select market for the Egyptian King in January or beyond.

Saudi clubs haven’t been as prone to throwing that kind of money around for players in their 30s of late - even Ronaldo came on a free after terminating his Manchester United deal.

Beyond the SPL though and it’s hard to see any big teams coughing up a fee and wages for Salah.

The future right now looks very uncertain - and Liverpool will clearly not be wanting to pay £20m a year to Salah until the end of his contract if he’s not even playing.

🔴 Shop the LFC 2025/26 adidas home range

👉🏻 A new centre-back is COMING to Liverpool

👉🏻 Liverpool finally replace Trent Alexander-Arnold with brilliant playmaker

👉🏻 Centre-back confirms he's ready to join Liverpool