For Saudi Arabia’s Al Ittihad, there is no such thing as giving up. Al Ittihad have set foot on London soil in a bid to land Mohamed Salah, 31, of Liverpool.
Britain’s ‘Daily Mail’ reported on April 4 (below), “Al Ittihad are making a final push to sign Salah before the transfer market closes on Thursday. A delegation has arrived in London, with Liverpool preparing to launch a £200m bid.”
Al Ittihad have been in the running for Salah this summer. The Liverpool ace has been touted as an iconic counterpart to Al Nasr’s Cristiano Ronaldo. However, Liverpool flatly refused, stating that Salah was not for sale.
However, Al Ittihad have not given up. They are now determined to bring Salah home, even if it means breaking the world record transfer fee. If Al Ittihad succeed in landing him for £200 million, Salah will overtake Neymar as the most expensive player in soccer history.
Salah will also receive a hefty weekly salary. “Salah, who speaks Arabic and is a devout Muslim, has been offered an astonishing £2.3 million a week,” according to the UK’s The Sun. If reports are to be believed, Salah could earn close to £120 million a year.
However, Liverpool are still shouting ‘not for sale’. After the game against Aston Villa on Wednesday, Klopp said, “I don’t doubt Salah’s commitment at all. He’s our player, he wants to play here,” he said, adding, “Salah hasn’t given me his intention to stay, but he didn’t even need to, he’s completely here.”
Klopp has previously admitted that the power of oil money is hard to beat. He recently said: “Next week we will see how difficult it is to overcome the power of the Saudis. Nobody can resist anymore,” he said, adding, “There is no denying that the Saudis are a threat. What can we do? The contract is so huge that we have a problem. It’s 100 percent,” but Salah is determined to keep his job 바카라.
But even Klopp’s firm words were not enough to deter Al Ikhtihad. Al Ittihad have already flown to London to try and sign Salah.
The Daily Mail reports, “A Saudi delegation arrived in London on Saturday, where they are trying to persuade Liverpool to sell Salah. The Reds have already rejected a £150m bid and manager Jürgen Klopp has publicly denied a move for Salah. But the Saudis have faith and will push ahead with a £200 million offer.”
The Athletic also emphasized that Salah’s transfer saga is far from over. “If anyone at Anfield believes the Salah saga is over, they are almost certainly mistaken. With cryptic social media posts, huge wage demands and talks between the Saudis and Salah’s agent, the saga has only just begun,” explaining that “Al Ittihad have not yet given up hope.”
Add to that the fact that the Egyptian national team has given Salah a break. According to The Sun, the Egyptian Football Association allowed him to stay in England and attend transfer talks. Salah will miss the team’s upcoming match against Ethiopia on Sept. 9 as he weighs his future without the national team.
The Saudi Professional League’s transfer market closes on the 7th local time. Al Ittihad don’t have much time left. How will Salah’s transfer saga, one for the ages, end?