What was said?
Speaking at the press conference, [coach 455353] was asked about Salah’s contract talks situation. The German replied, “I’m involved in pretty much everything that happens in the club. Maybe some talks happen without me, that’s possible but I’m not sure. Apart from that I know about all things.
“It is how it always is; we don’t speak about these things. I know we changed that a little bit with Hendo (Jordan Henderson), but that doesn’t mean we will from now on tell you about each little step with negotiations.
“Firstly, Mo is obviously in a really, really good moment, form-wise, mood-wise, how he behaved from the first day he came back, absolutely great.
“We are all adults, we are all professionals. If there are talks there are talks, and if there’s a decision then we will tell you. Until then it’s only important how the parties work together – and that’s not about Mo, it’s in general. We don’t have to talk about anything else, and the decisive people can talk in the background.
“But yes, with two years left, you can imagine that there are talks. That is it.”
Klopp was also asked about the goal-scoring record that Salah’s involved and does he use these things to motivate the striker. The Liverpool humbly replied, “I don’t have to. “He knows that. Mo is aware of all these things, and that is absolutely fine! He enjoys it.
“Breaking records is great, and the records he broke already are absolutely insane. I obviously didn’t know last week when he scored, that he is now the first player in the history of the Premier League to score in five successive (opening-day) games. And there’s a reason why nobody else did it – because it’s really difficult!
“If there are any records out there, he knows about them. And he doesn’t have to change his style, he just has to play football, and when he plays his football, when he works as hard as he does, there will come situations where he can score.
“With his quality, he can obviously do that, and I think he can set records with assists as well. Just being around goal situations, that’s Mo Salah!
“I’m really happy with him, but I never told him that he could be the biggest Liverpool legend ever, or whatever. That’s not something you go for, because people will judge you on that after your career.”
Why are Liverpool fans worried about this situation?
[team 8] are a well ran club from a financial perspective. Although quite a low net spend compared to [team 18] and [team 9], the Reds have won the [league 2] and the [league 8] in the last two years.
Even during their great form, there was always a feeling that they lack a formidable squad depth. They had a solid first eleven, but the bench was always weak compared to the other big clubs in the League. Investment in this Liverpool has been good, but it’s a very measured model. It is something that has irritated Liverpool fans in the past and is now making them angry.
In terms of transfer fees and from the wage perspective, they are a very tightly ran club. Their wage bill is incredibly small compared to the other big clubs. This is part of the reason why the fans are quite angry at this moment. [player 1365], one of the fans’ favourites, left the club on a free transfer as he wasn’t offered the desired wages.
There are reports that something similar is happening with club captain [player 323]. Blaming Liverpool fans for their reason behind the anger is hard because when looking at the investment of Chelsea, Man City and [team 14], it’s hard to disagree with the fans.
[player 4125] is one of if not the best players at Liverpool. His goal-scoring records for the last few years have been simply incredible. Last season when Liverpool had a terrible campaign, Salah scored 21 goals which is outstanding given he had an inconsistent team around him.
The problem that happened with Wijnaldum could also take place with Salah. He is Liverpool’s prized asset, their jewel in the crown, and it could happen that negotiations don’t go to plan. As it happened with Wijnaldum, Salah could also be attracted from big clubs for more money, and Liverpool could end up in a massive problem.
The club will have to make sure that they keep Salah; otherwise, the fans will lose patience in an uncontrollable way.
Author: Devashish Akolekar
