Why Liverpool might not give Mo Salah a new contract, by his agent

Liverpool are hesitant to give Mo Salah a new contract. His agent has revealed exactly why.

Liverpool's hesitance to re-sign Mo Salah to a new contract is clear for the world to see. After all, he's currently the best player on the planet and actively wants to play for the Reds, yet he doesn't have a new deal.

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And so, there must be some other reason for hesitancy. Liverpool have now let this one run on to the 'deadline', essentially. From January 1st, teams outside of England can formally negotiate with Salah and offer him their own contracts.

He could sign one of those contracts if he wished. It would be a pre-contract, kicking in from July 1st, the day after his current Liverpool deal expires.

So how have Liverpool let it come to this? How is one of Liverpool's all-time greats struggling to get the club to sign him up?

His agent has actually revealed exactly why.

A Harvard lecture on Mo Salah

Salah's agent is Ramy Abbas Issa, who has represented him for some time now. That includes during the latest intense negotiations back in 2022.

Salah was entering the final year of his previous contract back then and only signed a new one ahead of the season. There were genuine concerns that he wouldn't, but a deal got done.

Those negotiations were notable enough that Abbas actually gave a Harvard lecture on them. He explained the details behind it all to a class and a photo of that lecture reveals a lot.

Zoom in on that blackboard and you'll see a list of reasons why it was difficult to get Liverpool to agree on a new deal. The most notable? That forwards decline quickly.

Salah is a forward, of course, and the concern has always been that a decline is right around the corner. The fact he's arguably improved since then is absolutely remarkable.

Because most go the other way, just look at Sadio Mané. He's the same age as Salah but since 2022, he's gone from being one of the world's best to not good enough for the Saudi Pro League.

Liverpool's great concern back then was that Salah would be the one entering that kind of decline and that he'd do it on the back of a £350k-a-week contract renewal.

And that was two years ago. Salah will turn 33 when the new deal kicks in and worries over a decline are now even more serious than they were in 2022.

As good as he is now, is he going to maintain that level next year? What about the year after? Liverpool don't want to pay an absolute fortune to someone who can no longer deliver.

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