As Liverpool Football Club looks to agree a new contract offer for its biggest star the last thing they could really do with is another high profile forward becoming the highest paid footballer in the history of the game.
But that appears to be exactly what will happen if Kylian Mbappe decides to stay at Paris Saint Germaine beyond this season.
According to the Independent, PSG's World Cup-winning forward may not be on his way to Real Madrid in the summer after all, with the Qatari-owned Parisians believed to be prepared to offer him the type of contract yet to be seen in professional football.
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Talk of a deal worth over £500,000 a week may not have been entirely unexpected, but claims that the offer could be closer to £1m are enough to make anyone sit up and notice, not least Liverpool's Egyptian King who is currently believed to be looking for the biggest and best contract of his career, representative of his remarkable achievements.
Indeed, a new bar will be set for what top players can earn by Mbappe and PSG's rich Qatari owners.
It would also finally kill off any notion that Mbappe could end up at Anfield himself.
PSG are understandably as keen to hold onto their prize asset as much as Liverpool are to retain theirs. And the reasons go far beyond scoring goals and winning trophies.
Without question, Salah is Liverpool's most marketable player globally. The African star is the most prominent Muslim footballer in the world and the benefits to the club's kit deal with Nike are as clear as day.
As previously reported in the ECHO, he is now one of the top five names in the world for shirt sales. Liverpool's deal with Nike is worth a guaranteed £30m a year but can rise to as much as £70m a year once the global sales of Nike/Liverpool merchandise are taken into account.
Any new deal for Salah will closely consider the consequence of losing such a powerful marketing asset, should he walk away.
Despite his obvious marketable value, his on-field achievements are still considered to be the greatest benefit - the prism through which almost all supporters would hold their own opinion on the prolific forward.
Speaking on Salah's commercial importance to Liverpool in October, Andrea Sartori, Global Head of Sport for analysts KPMG, told the ECHO : "Salah is a world class player, but in football there are perhaps only four players (Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappé) whose departure could significantly impact a club's commercial revenues.
"Indirectly though, it could hurt the club, if on-pitch performances deteriorate as a result of his departure."
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Should Liverpool's owners FSG fail to agree a deal on terms that are acceptable to Salah, who will no doubt be watching the on-going Mbappe saga with vested interest, then potential suitors could arrive quickly as a hefty transfer fee is sought by Liverpool.
Real Madrid has often been the destination of choice for the global football superstar, but they are only likely to get serious about Salah if their attempts to lure Mbappe to the Bernabeu hit the buffers.
Even less likely is a move to Catalan giants Barcelona, who are still counting the cost of signing Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool for an eye-watering £142m back in 2018 - surely the Anfield club's greatest piece of business.
It could well be that FSG are prepared to sit it out until a realistic alternative destination for Salah to continue his mesmerising career comes within a threatening distance.
But if Mbappe ends up signing the PSG 'mega deal' then Liverpool's number 11 and his representatives will be starting their bargaining position from a much higher level than ever before.
