Liverpool are locked in an impasse in contract renewal talks with Mohamed Salah and Gary Lineker has now shared a joke the Egyptian made about leaving for “the money”.
On transfer Deadline Day, James Pearce reported that Salah is increasingly facing a “straight choice” between accepting the Liverpool terms on offer or leaving for Saudi Arabia where his financial demands would be met.
The Egyptian is out of contract at the end of the season unless new terms can be agreed with the Reds.
It’s the same for Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold with FSG coming under fire for failing to extend the trio’s contracts earlier.
With Salah in particularly incredible form, the controversy is really in the spotlight and Gary Lineker has now shared a humourous moment with Salah from before an interview he had with Salah.
Lineker shares Mo Salah joke about leaving Liverpool for “the money”
In 1992, Gary Lineker left Tottenham for Japanese side Nahoya Grampus Eight which Salah found funny as Lineker has shared on a new episode of the ‘The Rest Is Football‘ podcast with Alan Shearer.
“Lovely guy as well, I spent 10 minutes with him when I went to Anfield to interview Arne Slot, I had a good chat with him,” Lineker said of Salah.
In response to Shearer asking if he found out if Salah is staying or going, Lineker replied: “I didn’t, no. But he did ask me, he was just being funny, he was just kidding because the Liverpool press guy was there.
“He said to me, ‘So, how old were you when you finished?’, I said, ‘Well, English football I was 32, and then I went to play in Japan for a couple of years’.
“He went, ‘Oh, you went for the money did you?’ I said, ‘Well, yeah, I suppose so’ and he went, ‘Yeah, might do the same!’
“He winked at the press guy that was there and it was just a joke but yeah, he was just joking but he has got that cheeky sense of humour has Mo.”
All jokes aside, Liverpool need to find a way to get the deal done
Liverpool are in the driving seat in the Premier League title race but it will feel very anti-climatic if celebrations in May are in the wake of Salah and co. leaving.
Salah is on course to win several awards this season and hopefully it can be done with the knowledge that he will continue working wonders on the right wing at Anfield next season.
He may be 32 but Salah is not regressing at all. If anything, he’s reaching new levels.
Liverpool would be ensuring the post-Jurgen Klopp era would be guaranteed to thrive for years.