Liverpool transfers: Salah told Rudiger 'I'm LEAVING'

Mo Salah’s contract has been one of the main talking points around the entirety of Liverpool this season.

The talismanic attacker - along with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk - has his contract expiring as the end of the season. And whilst fans would never want to see a club legend go, the current rumours are that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is readying a monumental deal to secure his services.

Read more: Fabrizio Romano reveals latest on Trent Alexander-Arnold after BOMBSHELL reports

Speaking on The Inside Scoop, current Real Madrid centre-back Antonio Rudiger weighed in on his experiences with Salah during their days together at AS Roma.

He revealed that Salah let him know that he would be off to Anfield, where he has taken his game to another level.

“No I’m not surprised…” he answered when asked about Salah becoming one of the best players in the world at Liverpool, “in his second season [at Roma]... you could see this guy [was] on a different mission, he was more direct. In the first season he was trying to do dribbling, beat men 1-v-1.”

“But in that second season he was very direct. He just wanted goals and assists. And obviously I didn’t know that he was thinking about Liverpool already but one day he told me he was leaving [for] Liverpool… and that’s why, for me, I was not too surprised.”

Salah and Rudiger played together at Roma from 2015-2017, both spending the 2015/16 season there on loan (from Chelsea and Stuttgart, respectively) before joining permanently in 2016/17. 

The Giallorossi finished third in that first season and then second in 2016/17, pushing for the title and finishing only four points behind champions Juventus. 

Salah scored 34 goals in 83 games in the Italian capital, and the fact that he surpassed this tally with 44 in his first season at Liverpool speaks to Rudiger’s point about the Egyptian’s newfound directness upon arriving at Anfield. 

The winger has achieved three more 30+ goal seasons after this, and has started this season under head coach Arne Slot with six goals in nine games in all competitions. Despite his age and salary demands, it would be nigh-on impossible to replace the Egyptian in Liverpool’s side. Let’s hope a deal gets done for all our sakes.