Arne Slot has said Mohamed Salah’s dedication combined with Liverpool’s determination to improve next season will maintain the forward’s phenomenal output for two more years.
Salah ended uncertainty over his Liverpool future on Friday by signing a new two-year contract that should mean he completes a decade at Anfield. The agreement followed months of negotiations between the player, his agent Ramy Abbas Issa and Liverpool’s sporting director, Richard Hughes, and concludes a saga that at one point prompted a frustrated Salah to claim he was “more out than in”.
No financial details have been disclosed but the 32-year-old has not taken a pay cut and the new deal reflects his elite status. His previous three-year contract was worth a basic £350,000 a week, although his overall earnings were about £1m a week. Performance-related bonuses can take his Liverpool wage closer to £500,000 a week. Virgil van Dijk is expected to also sign a new two-year contract soon.
Salah will be 33 in June, 35 when his latest contract expires, but Slot believes age is not an issue for the Egypt international and has warned Liverpool’s rivals that his team could be even stronger next season.
The head coach said: “It’s never easy for a player to stay at the levels we are on. They have to work really hard for that and that’s exactly what he does. If you look at his body, how much he takes care of his body, not only physically but also mentally, that gives him a very good chance to stay at this level longer than maybe other players can.
“It’s not only he that will stay at a certain level, we have to stay at a certain level and then Mo will produce. Like I always say, we have to bring him in promising positions as much as we can. We have all the confidence in him that he can produce two more years of what he has produced in the past seven or eight years, because of the reasons I just gave you. But also because we will make this team very strong next season.”
Salah is third on Liverpool’s all-time goalscorers’ list behind Ian Rush and Roger Hunt with 243 goals in 392 appearances. He has been instrumental in this season’s pursuit of the Premier League title and, despite being free to negotiate with foreign clubs from 1 January, has long been expected to extend his Anfield career. Slot said the better he got to know Salah, the more he had “the feeling that he would extend with us”. The Dutchman made several calls to Hughes earlier this season imploring him to finalise a new contract with the forward.
“It’s great to be here another two years,” said Salah. “We have a great team now. Before also we had a great team. But I signed because I think we have a chance to win other trophies and enjoy my football. I had my best years here. I played eight years, hopefully it’s going to be 10.”
Salah said his wife, Magi, and two young daughters had also wanted to stay on Merseyside and credited his relationship with Slot as another factor in his contentment at Liverpool. He said: “I think we have a good relationship. We understand each other on and off the field, which is very important. We have good communication, we discuss almost everything he wants me to improve and he wants from me. And also if I feel there’s something in doubt, I go and speak to him. That’s a great asset to have also as a manager.”
Slot praised the Liverpool hierarchy for securing the services of a world-class talent who would have had numerous options as a free agent, including a move to the Saudi Pro League.
“I’m part of the process but I don’t deserve the compliments,” Slot said. “First of all, it’s Mo’s choice and his agent’s choice and what he wants. Second of all, the club – FSG [Fenway Sports Group], Richard, Michael Edwards [FSG’s CEO of football] – put in a lot of effort to influence that. Effort mostly means money but not only money. What it might tell you is that it’s not only a good season this season but next season as well. Mo is convinced we have a fair chance of being able to do so. That’s positive. If you want to sign new players or players who want to extend here it is always a positive to see one of our star players has made the choice to extend his contract. It also shows how ambitious this club is: not only Mo, but the owners and the ones who came in last season, that we are really ambitious to keep performing the way this club has performed for so many years.”
Salah has scored 30 or more goals in five seasons at Liverpool and Slot believes the target for the next two years, on an individual level, should be to strive for perfection.
He said “We are always trying to achieve a bit more but if you play for Liverpool then you are already close to the maximum of your ability. So there is not a lot more to come (from Salah), we are just trying to reach perfection. We will never reach it but we will reach excellence along the way. We brought almost the maximum out of Mo this season. Then it’s about consistency and that is why Mo is at the level he is. His mentality is so strong and it needs to be if you want to stay at the highest level for seven or eight years and perform every three days.”
Van Dijk has confirmed progress is being made on his deal and Slot indicated a resolution could be close. “We will see what is going to happen in the upcoming weeks,” he said. “There is not a lot of time to go so you will get your answers in the next two months.” Trent Alexander-Arnold, who will also become a free agent this summer, is expected to join Real Madrid.
