Liverpool cult hero Luis Garcia has said that the club must start winning trophies if they are to keep talisman Mohamed Salah out of the clutches of Real Madrid.
Spanish outlet Don Balon revealed in January that the European champions are interested in the Egyptian international, but Garcia believes the Reds are well placed to rebuff them.
“If Liverpool win trophies then I think it will be much easier for the club to keep Mo Salah,” he said, as per the Daily Mirror. “We know that Barcelona and Real Madrid will be in the market for the best players in the summer.
“And if you talk about the best players in the world right now then Mo Salah must be included. I have seen the talk that Barca and Madrid are interested in him and we have seen in the past with [Luis] Suarez and [Philippe] Coutinho how difficult it is for players to say no when they get the chance to sign for one of those clubs.
“At this moment, though, I think Liverpool are a different club than what they were. They are now a club with the potential to win the big trophies.”
OPINION
It does seem that Liverpool are now at the point where they are big enough and are competing regularly enough at the top table of European football that they don’t need to sell their best players to anyone. If you were Salah, why would you move to Madrid or Barcelona? Liverpool are in the thick of a Premier League title race, they were Champions League runners up last season and are in the quarter finals of that competition this season. So the Reds are competing for every prize in the game – why would you not want to be a part of that? Obviously Madrid and Barca could probably pay Salah a bit more money, but likely not enough to make a difference. But if Liverpool can’t get over the hump and add to their trophy collection in the years to come, then Salah might want to start looking for a potential move away. However, if Jurgen Klopp’s team start winning trophies then it would be a surprise if any of their best players leave.
