Marcus Rashford is Liverpool's big Mo Salah FEAR

Liverpool have found themselves in a bizarre contract mess. How has that happened? Marcus Rashford can explain.

Liverpool's three most valuable outfield players are all out of contract at the end of the season. It's a ridiculous, bizarre situation and one that makes little sense on the face of it.

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How do you let Mo Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk come within weeks of signing a deal elsewhere? How do you let them all go at once for free?

Liverpool are facing those questions on a daily basis right now. That's been the case since the summer - especially once that transfer window shut.

And the answer is actually reasonably simple. It comes down to value for money and Liverpool wanting to be extra cautious with massive contracts.

For perspective here, Salah, Van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold are Liverpool's three highest earners. Salah earns around £350k each week - Luis Diaz gets about £40k.

Van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold carry home around £200k, roughly. These aren't contracts the club likes handing out. They could, after all, pay a multiple good players for what they're paying these individuals.

However, sometimes, a superstar justifies the money. We'd argue all three have - so why is there hesitation now?

The Marcus Rashford problem

Marcus Rashford is currently being shopped around by Manchester United. They need his wages off the book - £325k a week, per the Telegraph.

United want him gone for a modest fee, which would free up space to meet Premier League Spending Rules. And this is essentially Liverpool's big worry.

Rashford has not come close to justifying those wages. He signed the contract in 2023 on the back of a campaign that saw him bag 30 goals in all competitions. The striker followed it by scoring eight times in 2023/24.

Now the contract is a massive problem for United. The player declined immediately and takes up space on the wage bill that several stars could fill.

This is the big worry for Liverpool. Both Van Dijk and Salah are 32 - who's to say they won't decline rapidly? Sadio Mane certainly has.

And Alexander-Arnold is not a goalscorer - his value to the team is up for debate. While it's certainly massive, is it worth Salah money? And what if all the football he's played at a young age catches up to him?

FSG and Liverpool want to mitigate these risks. They're incredibly cautious when it comes to big spends and the Rashford situation perfectly represents those concerns.

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