According to English media reports, officials from Saudi Arabia consider their decision not to pursue Mohamed Salah in the January transfer window to have been wise. The Egyptian superstar has announced that he will leave Liverpool at the end of the season.
However, they are now concerned that as Salah has agreed to forgo his massive weekly salary of £400,000 and will leave Merseyside as a free agent in the summer, they will face far stiffer competition for the 33-year-old player than initially anticipated.
Salah has long been linked with a move to Saudi Arabia, and Liverpool have previously rejected world-record bids to retain the club's all-time leading Premier League goalscorer.
Journalists have been told that Saudi parties had planned to make another move for Salah in January, with sources in the Middle East viewing it as a potential cut-price deal. This became a distinct possibility after Salah launched an unusually strong counterattack against the club in December, when he insisted he felt "abandoned" after being left out of the team's lineup.
Senior figures at Saudi Pro League clubs decided not to take action, with a source at one top club telling iNews that their priority is young talent. Being able to sign Salah on a free transfer would be ideal, allowing financial resources to be allocated to signing younger players.
It is understood that Major League Soccer (MLS) is also interested in Salah, but this interest was not taken seriously before because he was under contract with Liverpool — and it was believed that a transfer fee would need to be negotiated if he left in the summer. Now, Salah will have a much broader market, including options in Europe, as long as clubs can meet his salary demands.
However, journalists have been informed that Saudi parties still believe Salah will join the Saudi Pro League once regional tensions ease. Given that he is a Muslim player set to play in an Arab country, this transfer could see his star power even surpass that of Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, who currently plays for Al-Nassr in Riyadh.
