Michael Owen has suggested that some complications may have arisen with regard to a potential contract renewal for Liverpool’s Mo Salah.
The Reds have handed fresh terms to a number of first-team players from Virgil van Dijk to Trent Alexander-Arnold, with it having been reported that the Egyptian is currently in talks with the side about extending his stay beyond 2023.
“I’m guessing his deal is more complicated than the others as he’s the main goalscorer and the big earner,” the 41-year-old told BT Sport (via the Metro).
“I imagine his is the most complicated as it will probably be his last big contract. From the club’s point of view, I know everyone says, ‘give him what he wants’. But fans don’t actually want that.
“You need structure. If you give Salah double what Van Dijk’s on, suddenly there could be a problem in the camp.”
“We’ve seen lots of instances like that over the years, at Arsenal in the main. Aubameyang was just given what he wanted and now look…
“It’s his last big contract, he’s not going to move and he’s on whatever he’s on a week. It’s not as easy as that. I think you’ve got to keep a bit of respect and parity without the club.
“He’ll probably become Liverpool’s top earner because I think they’ll find a way. There’s no word coming out that they’re miles apart so I think it will get done but I do think Liverpool are right to make it as reasonable as possible.”
Considering that the Merseysiders’ summer window was one defined by contract renewals rather than player incomings, one would imagine that the club will be keen to secure such a key star on extended terms.
In principle, we’d agree with the former Liverpool striker – Salah shouldn’t be on astronomically higher wages than the likes of Van Dijk.
However, we don’t necessarily buy into the idea that the Egyptian is demanding a ludicrously dear wage packet.
There’s no questioning the fact that the former Roma man does deserve a pay bump, given his clear contributions over the years – not to forget near singlehandedly keeping us in contention for a top four finish last term – but we’d doubt that it will be beyond our means.
and of course, he has one of the most difficult agents in world football, and not always in a good way…. Mo leaves everything to him and I’m not sure that this total trust is well placed.