Mohamed Salah contract reality should already be clear after latest Liverpool exit claim emerges

With 60 days to go, at least as things stand, until Liverpool trio Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold can talk freely to clubs abroad about a free transfer move in the summer of 2025, the noise is only going to increase until that point — except, of course, if there is positive news to announce.

Each has been the subject of much debate already and this time, referencing Salah, it was former Reds sporting director Jorg Schmadtke adding his thoughts on the situation. "I don't know, but it is entirely possible that [a Saudi move] will happen," he told Al-Eqtisadiah when asked about Salah’s future. "The Saudi League is developing every year due to more money being invested in the competition."

It is entirely possible, too, that Schmadtke was simply trying to engineer a lucrative move to the Middle East for himself, talking up the prospect of big players going there in the meantime. After all, he did add: "The Saudi League deals have affected the work of some European clubs, but the matter does not rise to the level of harm. I welcome working in it if I receive a good offer."

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Yet it is, nonetheless, an interesting assumption Schmadtke makes: that Salah would be interested by such a switch. The only reason that he can put forward for Salah being tempted to the Saudi Pro League is a financial one — and money is not something that the Egyptian currently lacks.

Meanwhile, he will have seen plenty of examples of players who have faded into obscurity by playing in that division. Gini Wijnaldum and Roberto Firmino, to name just two, are highly unlikely to be providing glowing reports on anything other than the state of their bank balances.

In some ways, Schmadtke's tenure will be looked back on as a success. Ryan Gravenberch now looks like a supreme midfielder who was signed for a bargain $44m (£34m/€40m) fee from Bayern Munich, while Wataru Endo plugged a gap and Dominik Szoboszlai could yet explode. Alexis Mac Allister also came in that summer, but that was mainly the work of Julian Ward.

But it was also in this period that key contracts should have been negotiated. Alexander-Arnold, as the youngest of the three, should have been the first priority, but Salah and Van Dijk should be tied down too. In a period of transition, with Schmadtke only a temporary appointment and Jurgen Klopp leaving but having not yet made that public, nothing could be done.

That means that there is a scramble now to sort things out. Van Dijk has confirmed talks are underway with his representatives, and a breakthrough there seems more than possible. For Alexander-Arnold, it feels like a straight choice between Real Madrid or a new deal.

With Salah, though, regardless of how long and difficult negotiations were with the Egyptian's agent last time he penned an extension, the assumption that he would simply take the Saudi riches if he leaves Liverpool doesn't seem quite so simple. MLS could be another option, but that too feels like something that would come later in his career.

For now, Salah is still more than capable of performing at the highest level. In that case, no amount of cash that the Saudi league can throw at him will change the ultimate reality: the best thing for him is staying at Liverpool. As much as the prospect of him leaving for nothing puts the player in a strong negotiating position, the fact that he doesn't have a better option counteracts that.

The money on offer in the Middle East is undoubtedly massive. What is also true, however, is that Salah's best bet in every way aside from the economics is staying exactly where he is.