No Salah in Saudi Arabia: Egyptian star to stay in Liverpool

Liverpool footballer Mo Salah has ruled out a move to the Saudi Pro League this summer, amid a recent flurry of high-profiles moves to the Gulf country’s football league.

Salah, who has played for Liverpool since 2017, insisted that he remains committed to the Reds, The Liverpool Echo reported on Monday, citing his agent.

Salah’s response came amid reports from Riyadh that Saudi Pro League champions Al-Ittihad approached the Egyptian's representatives over a deal that could have seen him earn over €180 million (£155 million) over two seasons.

The report also claimed that Al-Ittihad will submit a £60 million bid for the player, who often ranks as one of the Premier League's top scorers.

The Saudi sports outlet Arriyadiyah on Sunday claimed that the Saudi club and Salah were "in serious negotiations" over a possible move, citing "a source close to the player".

If we considered leaving LFC this year, we wouldn’t have renewed the contract last summer. Mohamed remains committed to LFC.

— Ramy Abbas Issa (@RamyCol) August 7, 2023

However, Salah’s agent, Ramy Abbas Issa, quickly refuted the reports on social media.

"If we considered leaving LFC this year, we wouldn’t have renewed the contract last summer," he said. "Mohamed remains committed to LFC."

Salah has two years remaining on his contract with the Merseyside club, earning him £350,000 a week, having signed a three-year extension last July.

The 31-year-old, who also captains Egypt, scored a total of 31 goals in 51 appearances for Liverpool last season. He is also the club’s top Premier League scorer, having surpasses Robbie Fowler’s record in March this year.

Liverpool FC have already lost the likes of Jordan Henderson and Fabinho, who recently completed moves to Al-Ettifaq and Al-Ittihad, respectively. Midfielder Roberto Firmino also joined Al-Ahli on a free transfer. Henderson played for Liverpool for over a decade, and captained the squad for much of his tenure at Anfield.

Meanwhile, Al-Ittihad’s squad has strengthened significantly due to the high-profile signings of French footballers Karim Benzema from Real Madrid, and N'Golo Kante from Chelsea, as well as Portugal winger Jota from Celtic.

Other big-name players to join the Saudi Pro League this year are Cristiano Ronaldo, who joined Al-Nassr in January for an impressive £173 million a season in Riyadh, as well Alex Telles who joined from Ronaldo’s former club, Manchester United.

Much of the footballer spending splurge has been financed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PFI) which also owns top English team Newcastle United.