Mo Salah is about to say YES to new Liverpool contract

The entire season-long, the story of Mo Salah and his will-they-won’t-they contract scenario always seemed a bit on the confusing side.

He hadn’t had a noticeable drop in form at any point. 39 goal involvements last season, 44 the season before that.

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Liverpool also had no real long-term replacement lined up either. And whilst the allure of Saudi money is obvious, Salah never seemed the type of person for whom that would take precedence. He had already been the highest-paid player at one of the most prestigious players in the world for years.

And that was before he had arguably the best season of his career, with 54 goal involvements and nine games left to play.

In a contract year and at 32-years old, the Egyptian has dropped his most Ballon d’Or-worthy performance yet. He’s not in the ‘play out your years earning through the nose in Saudi Arabia’ part of his career yet.

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And this is being reflected in the rumour mill, with Spanish outlet El Nacional reporting that Liverpool are “closer than ever” to getting Salah’s contract renewed due to the playmaker’s desire to win another Champions League and a Ballon d’Or.

Champions League and Ballon d'Or keep Salah at Liverpool

The Catalan report states that Salah "dreamed of a perfect season: Premier League, Champions League and the most prestigious individual award in the world."

Yet the Champions League defeat to PSG has been a "major blow to his morale". The report states that Salah "knows that the opportunities to win the Champions League again and fight for the Ballon d'Or are limited" and he "does not want to end his time at Anfield with a feeling of disappointment."

The Ballon d’Or is a bit of a subjective thing. The ‘best player in the world’ in any given year is usually always contendable (outside of a handful of seasons by Lionel Messi in the 2010s).

This was demonstrated in crystal clear fashion with the tantrum Real Madrid threw after Rodri was given the award this past year over Vinicius Junior.

Madrid believed their winning of the Champions League should have counted for a lot more to give Vinicius the honour over Rodri. And this is the thing that’s tough to swallow - in some years it probably would.

So for Salah, crashing out of the Champions League in the Round of 16 could be too much of a problem to be handed the award, despite everything else he’s done this season. Particularly when his main competition appears to be Barcelona’s Raphinha, who could be on a direct path to hoisting the Champions League trophy themselves.

For Liverpool, there’s a chance the defeat to PSG was a blessing in disguise if it gives Salah a chip on his shoulder and a goal he still wants to accomplish at the club.

Multiple Champions League victories at the same club are unheard of, particularly in England in recent years. Rodri was also the first Premier League player to win the Ballon d’Or since Cristiano Ronaldo in 2008.

If anyone can do both in the same year then it’s Mo Salah. But he’ll have to renew that contract first.

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