Mohamed Salah informed close friends that he was willing to commit his future to Liverpool but performed a drastic U-turn after Barcelona promised him a move next summer.
The Egyptian winger is weighing up his options with his current deal expiring next summer. Salah has claimed he is staying put next season, but there are question marks over who his employers will be beyond that.
The Reds have been locked in extension negotiations since last summer but have been unable to come to an agreement as Salah looks for a hefty pay rise. While Liverpool are reluctant to break their wage structure, they maintain hope they can meet him somewhere in the middle.
If Salah doesn't sign an extension this summer and Liverpool hold onto him beyond the transfer window, they risk letting him leave as a free agent in 12 months' time.
That will bring several clubs into the equation and Mirror Football can exclusively reveal that the forward has been promised a move to Barcelona next summer on a free transfer. It’s believed that Barca's verbal offer is a major reason behind the forward stalling on a new deal at Liverpool despite informing close friends a few months ago that he was ready to pen a new deal at the Merseyside club.
Salah confirmed he will be at Anfield next season before their Champions League final defeat against Real Madrid. He said: "In my mind, I don't focus on the contract. I don't want to be selfish at all. I said two months ago it's about the team. It's an important week for us.
"I'm just focused on the team and winning the Champions League again. I want to see Hendo [Jordan Henderson] with the trophy in their hands and hopefully he gives it to me. I don't want to talk about the contract now, I'm staying next season for sure, that's clear."
Liverpool will hope Jurgen Klopp's recent contract extension - that keeps the German in the Anfield dugout until at least 2026 - will help convince Salah and Sadio Mane - who is in the exact same situation as his teammate - to commit their future to the Reds.
But Klopp doesn't think it will be a deciding factor. "That is more a question for the boys, what it exactly means for them but all fine, my relationship with them is great,” he said.
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"My point is in life there are more important things to think about, not only who is the manager but knowing who the manager and coaching staff is is an important thing because when you know what you have with other clubs where you could go, you don’t know exactly.
"There is no 100 per cent in this business but I think it is pretty likely I will stay for a little bit longer because other coaches are there at other clubs.
"If it is a positive sign for the boys, great, but I don’t think this will be the one decisive thing for whatever decision they want to make. It is their own life but we just wanted to guarantee that everyone who wants to be here knows what he can expect."
