Liverpool’s form since the end of 2020 has shown Jurgen Klopp was right not to worry when Mohamed Salah opened the door to Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Just a few months after leading the Reds to Premier League glory, Egypt star Salah appeared to flirt with the Spanish giants. At the time, an injury-hit Liverpool were at risk of missing out on Champions League qualification, but they turned things around thanks to 22 goals from their leading man.
Klopp was remarkably relaxed at the time. The manager’s decision to leave Salah on the bench in the week of the interview didn’t harm the side too much, with Liverpool beating Crystal Palace 7-0, but the questions still followed.
More than three years on, Salah is due to outlast Klopp at Anfield. The manager is nearing the end of his nine-year tenure, while Salah has a fourth straight 30-goal season in his sights after bringing up 200 goals for Liverpool earlier this season.
“Who knows what will happen,” Salah told AS in December 2020. “But right now I am focused on winning the Premier League and the Champions League with Liverpool again.”
“That’s a tough question, but right now I can say that everything is in the hands of the club,” he added when pushed further. Of course I want to break records here and, I repeat, all the club records, but everything is in the hands of the club.”
Klopp was satisfied with the decision to manage Salah’s workload, bringing him off the bench for a late brace at Palace, and poured cold water on any speculation that might have followed the interview. “I have nothing to say [about the AS interview]. All fine from my side,” he said.
Salah ended the 2020-21 season with 22 league goals, just one fewer than golden boot winner Harry Kane, and went one better the following season as Liverpool finished second. A difficult 2022-23 campaign still brought 19 league goals and 30 in all competitions, while his penalty away to Manchester United last time out was his 17th in just 25 top-flight outings this term.
He signed a new deal in the summer of 2022, making him the highest-paid player in Liverpool’s history. There was interest from Saudi Arabia over the summer, with the Reds knocking back a big-money deal, and agent Ramy Abbas Issa made it clear Salah would be staying put.
“If we considered leaving LFC this year, we wouldn’t have renewed the contract last summer,” Abbas said in the summer of 2023. “Mohamed remains committed to LFC.”
Having remained committed to Liverpool for going on seven years, the former Roma forward appears to feel there’s more to do before Klopp’s departure, as well. Sunday’s draw at Old Trafford left the Reds second on goal difference, but there’s still time to add to Klopp’s one league title and multiple near misses.
“We won just one Premier League, one Champions League and other cups, but I think it’s necessary to win another one,” Salah said before Sunday’s game. “I believe that we can win this one, we just need to focus on each game, but I think it’s necessary to win another title.
“It’s necessary to win one more, we won the league just one time so it would be great to win a second time. Two times [we] won the Premier League and one Champions League, I think it’s necessary for our legacy here at the club to win the Premier League for the second time.”
