24 August 2023 , 19:12
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Liverpool star Mohamed Salah will not be pursuing a mega-money move to Saudi side Al-Ittihad, according to his former teammate Dejan Lovren at least.
The Egyptian forward has been linked with making a move to Saudi Arabia this week. Reigning champions Al-Ittihad want to seal his signature before the window closes.
It is suggested that they have already met his representatives in Doha for talks and are willing to make him an offer that would make him the highest-paid player in the league above Cristiano Ronaldo. Some reports on Twitter claimed that Salah would be willing to quit Liverpool to pursue a move.
However, his former Liverpool teammate Lovren has disputed those claims. He replied to one report with a gif imitating a growing nose alongside a caption reading “stop lying”.
Whilst it remains to be seen if Salah pursues a move, Lovren’s retort could have some credence to it given the close relationship that the pair share. Speaking during his time as a Liverpool player, the Croatian defender said: "From day one, we felt this connection.
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"We have been talking a lot, we were talking about private things and we have a similar background, a tough life from the beginning. It wasn't easy to grow up where he was in Egypt without anything, and I had a similar thing in Croatia with the war and going back to Germany.”
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Alongside Lovren’s claim, it appears that not many are in a mood to sanction Salah’s move to Saudi Arabia. Liverpool are taking a firm stance over the former Roma star’s future.
He still has two years left to serve on his contract on Merseyside, whilst the Reds have pointed to the difficulty they would face finding a replacement in the final week of the British transfer window. Jurgen Klopp ’s side have already lost a host of players to Saudi clubs this summer.
Former captain Jordan Henderson previously quit Anfield to link up with Steven Gerrard at Al-Ettifaq. Roberto Firmino moved to Al-Ahli at the end of his Liverpool contract.
Elsewhere, Al-Ittihad also moved for Salah’s former teammate Fabinho - the Brazilian completing a £40m switch earlier this window. The former’s agent Ramy Abbas Issa has already shut down talk of a reunion in the near future.
“If we considered leaving LFC this year, we wouldn’t have renewed the contract last summer. Mohamed remains committed to LFC,” he said earlier this month.
Salah will be aiming to get on the scoresheet for the second consecutive match this weekend as Liverpool pursue back-to-back Premier League wins. Klopp’s side take on Saudi-backed Newcastle at St James’ Park on Sunday afternoon.