Jurgen Klopp allayed fears Mohamed Salah could be leaving Liverpool for Saudi Arabia when quizzed on the future of the Egyptian after Sunday’s 2-1 win at Newcastle United.
Salah has emerged as a priority target for the reigning champions of the Saudi Pro League, Al-Ittihad, in recent weeks as their push to recruit the biggest names in the world of football continues.
Al-Ittihad have already signed Fabinho, N’Golo Kante and Karim Benzema so far this summer and are not prepared to stop there as they step up their efforts to sign Salah – a player idolised by many in the Middle East.
Jurgen Klopp has continued to downplay the idea of the 31-year-old being allowed to depart the club and adopted the same stance when speaking after yesterday’s victory at St James’ Park.
Responding to a remark that this transfer rumour hasn’t “gone away”, the German coach said “For me it has” before making an abrupt exit to end his interview with Sky Sports.
A report by CBS has today stated Al-Ittihad are preparing a bid worth £128million for the 2019 Champions League as they look to test the resolve of Fenway Sports Group. This article explains £85m of this fee would be paid upfront, with the potential for a further £42m to be earned through add-ons.
One concern Klopp will have as regards this subject is the fact the Saudi Arabian transfer window closes on September 20, enabling clubs in this division to continue to pick off players after the English deadline for deals of September 1 has passed.
Speaking out on this issue at a recent press conference, the Liverpool boss said: “I understand that it is not cool for us, that is how it is. If we want a player from Wigan, I go there and they tell us the price and we pay it probably. The Bundesliga is like that if Bayern comes, Dortmund or Mainz cannot react. But there is a next level and it is not great. This is part of the business.
“But what makes it from a specific moment not possible to deal with is that our transfer window closes and theirs stays open. So how can we react? From that moment we play until the first of January and this is our squad. That is what everyone is used to.
“We had it in the past with Russia. They had a different transfer window but that was not completely crazy money. It is new, challenging for everybody and we have to learn to deal with it, but the authorities should make clear that if you want to be part of the system then you do your business at the same time. I am pretty sure FIFA could do it like this if they want to.”
