Mohamed Salah has not yet agreed to extend Liverpool's contract as the two sides' contracts will expire in June. The Egyptian striker is 32 years old but still maintains high performance, which makes Liverpool very hesitant because if they do not pay a high salary in the upcoming contract and Salah is out of form, they will suffer.
Salah's decline in form will certainly come in the future when he is past the age of 30, but when that future will be, no one can predict. Salah still had 1 goal and 1 assist in Liverpool's most recent draw with Aston Villa. He became the first player after Lionel Messi 10 years ago to both score and assist in 10 national championship matches.
This is one of the reasons why at the age of 32, Salah can still do extraordinary things like the legendary Messi. That is a huge advantage for him at the negotiation table. Since the era of Messi and Ronaldo continuously winning the Golden Ball, now is a new opportunity to hand over to people like Salah, Rodri, Vinicius or Mbappe.
In a year without the World Cup and EURO, the Champions League title plays a key role for a player who wants to compete for the Ballon d'Or. Liverpool is still the strongest team in Europe and Salah's influence is huge. He has 24 Premier League goals in a context where the remaining 5 strikers of The Kop only have 26 goals.
After the match against Villa, Salah became the 5th player in Premier League history to have 15 goals and 15 assists in a season. The Premier League has 13 more rounds to go, the opportunity for the Egyptian star to increase his achievements still exists.
Liverpool, after falling behind in the FA Cup, still have the League Cup, Premier League and Champions League to compete for. The League Cup final was in the hands of Arne Slot and his students. In the Premier League, the gap with Arsenal is 8 points but has played 1 more match. If they can get through the March period safely, Liverpool will discourage their opponents when The Gunners are now devastated by their attack.
However, Salah needs to win the Champions League or World Cup because 13/18 of the most recent Ballon d'Or are associated with these two titles. The 2018 - 2019 period was the most appropriate time for the Egyptian star to win it. It is a pity that the 2018 Champions League final defeat cost him the opportunity in the final match.
If he wins the Ballon d'Or this year, Salah will become the first player from the Middle East - North Africa region to do so. He also became the first African star to receive this honor after George Weah in 1995.
In December 2024, Salah said he was focusing on the Premier League goal. However, he understands the ambition of the Ballon d'Or to go to the Champions League. Egypt has never been in the group that can win the World Cup. If he went to Saudi Arabia to play football, Salah, no matter how many goals he scored and won countless titles, could not compare with the European championship with Liverpool.
If he leaves Liverpool but still wants to win the Champions League, Salah will have to join Real Madrid, the team that always has the highest chance of winning this title. However, Real have no place for Salah, so right now, staying at Liverpool is the best option. Understanding this, The Kop will have a slight advantage at the negotiation table with the club's living legend.
Salah and Liverpool are in a tug-of-war situation but not fiercely, neither side wants to break the good relationship they have, even want to continue to develop together. However, the question of how much salary and benefits will be reasonable for both of them to start another journey?
