Mohamed Salah of Liverpool during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on January 2, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Charlotte Wilson/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)
Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah says he is not asking for “crazy stuff” in any new contract he signs with the Premier League club but wants the deal to reflect his huge contribution at Anfield.
The Egypt international has fewer than 18 months remaining on his current deal and has reiterated whether he stays or goes remains in the hands of Liverpool.
Reports have suggested that Salah, who has won the Champions League and Premier League with Liverpool, is looking for a weekly salary of more than £300 000 ($408,000).
That would smash the Reds’ wage structure and would represent a significant policy change by the club, with the owners reluctant to hand out lucrative contracts to players once they reach 30, which Salah does in June.
Salah, who has scored 111 goals in 165 Premier League matches for Liverpool, and is on track for a third Golden Boot in five years, said he wanted to be appreciated.
“I want to stay, but it’s not in my hands. It’s in their hands. They know what I want. I’m not asking for crazy stuff,” Salah told GQ magazine.
“The thing is when you ask for something and they show you they can give you something (they should) because they appreciate what you did for the club.
“I’ve been here for my fifth year now. I know the club very well. I love the fans. The fans love me. But with the administration, they have (been) told the situation. It’s in their hands.”
Salah, currently playing for Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations, has made the three-man shortlist, along with Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski and Paris Saint-Germain’s Lionel Messi, for FIFA’s best men’s player of 2021.
He finished seventh in the race for last year’s Ballon d’Or, but the Egyptian’s ambition is to be the best in the world.
“I can’t really lie and say honestly I didn’t think about it,” he said. “No, I think about it. I want to be the best player in the world.
“But I will have a good life even if I don’t win. My life is OK, everything is fine.”
© Agence France-Presse