FSG are setting quite an incredible contract precedent – and it’s one that Mo Salah will inevitably have questions about. The Egyptian claims he’s had no offer from Liverpool.
Mo Salah claims he’s had no contract offer from Liverpool. This isn’t just a case of ‘reports’, either – he flat-out said it to journalists this week.
That wasn’t the party line and Salah has piled the pressure on Liverpool there. After all, he knows full well that the fans want him to get a new contract, even if it means keeping him on high wages well into his mid-30s.
Liverpool and FSG quite clearly aren’t too sure. After all, concerns over his age are pretty much the only concerns here.
Salah is thriving under Arne Slot and is arguably the world’s best player right now. If he were 26 and showing this much desire to play for Liverpool, there wouldn’t be any question that a deal is done.
But the decision-makers at Anfield have a hangup about paying players over 30. All the data tells you that a rapid decline is imminent, even in superstars like Salah. The Reds don’t want to offer up a tonne of cash and then see Salah become a shadow of himself in years two and three of that deal.
There’s an interesting wrinkle here, though. Liverpool are far from the only
FSG set contract precedent
FSG don’t just own Liverpool FC, of course. They own several American teams, too, including the Boston Red Sox.
Another of theirs is the Pittsburgh Penguins, an NHL team. They made a very interesting move earlier this year as they renewed the contract of Sidney Crosby.
Now, Crosby is one of the greatest hockey players in history. He’s pretty unarguably the most legendary active player.
He’s also played his entire NHL career with the Penguins and is their captain. Notably, though, Crosby is 37.
The Canadian remains one of the best players in the NHL, even if he’s not quite as effective as he was in his prime. But we can’t help but notice that FSG don’t appear to have any great problem handing out a lengthy contract to a player in decline.
Crosby is now contracted for this season and the two following campaigns. That’ll make him 40 when this all expires.
And this isn’t a case of FSG handing a player a small contract to keep him around. Per Spotrac, Crosby is and will remain the highest-paid player on the Penguins. The next-highest? 38-year-old Evgeni Malkin, also contracted for multiple years.
This seems like the absolute opposite policy to the one in action at Liverpool. How exactly should Mo Salah take that?
