Ultimately, the information that Mohamed Salah will stay at Liverpool was delivered with a humorous tagline.
“Extra in than out,” learn the message throughout the membership’s social media pages at 8am on Friday, round 36 hours after stories within the ahead’s homeland of Egypt first urged he had agreed to increase his eight-year keep at Anfield.
It was a play on phrases, nodding to Salah’s feedback in November when his future on Merseyside felt much more tenuous. The truth that he felt “extra out than in” after scoring two essential objectives in a 3-2 come-from-behind win at Southampton that day was affirmation that the method of his contract negotiations has not precisely been easy. Although Liverpool all the time felt assured a profitable decision could be reached, that state of affairs was not inevitable.
He is staying. pic.twitter.com/AnhqQjUg7g
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) April 11, 2025
Now, nevertheless, the deal is completed.
Salah has signed a two-year extension, with no breaks or launch clauses, on phrases similar to those that nearly definitely made him the second-highest-paid participant within the Premier League behind Manchester Metropolis striker Erling Haaland. Whereas his earlier contract included a primary weekly wage of £350,000 ($480,000), when bonuses and performance-related incentives have been taken under consideration, Salah’s package deal was value much more. Together with exterior business endorsements, a few of which additionally had performance-related clauses, he earned as much as £1million per week.
This new contract’s profitable nature displays Salah’s standing and his ongoing excellence, despite the fact that he’ll flip 33 in June. After scoring 243 objectives in 394 video games, he’s set to finish a decade’s service at Anfield.
Discussions on this newest deal have been a drawn-out course of, reasonably than there being any breakthrough ‘second’, and have taken almost a 12 months. The trail has not been easy.
The Athletic has talked to figures with intimate data of these negotiations, who spoke to us on situation of anonymity to guard relationships, to know why they took so lengthy, how each events approached them and what in the end clinched an settlement.
Ramy Abbas, the Colombian lawyer who’s Salah’s long-time consultant, doesn’t like discussing delicate issues on his cellphone. For him, it’s handy that companies corresponding to WhatsApp are banned from receiving or making calls within the United Arab Emirates, the place he lives.
Although messages are permitted, a whole lot of them are often left unread on his accounts, many from potential business companions trying to work together with his most well-known shopper. A observe on his WhatsApp profile warns: “Voice notes ignored. For those who’re late, I’ll depart.”
Abbas is transactional, he likes effectivity and he prefers to satisfy in particular person.
When Liverpool signed Salah in the summertime of 2017, their sporting director on the time, Michael Edwards, and chief scout Dave Fallows flew to Dubai out of respect for Abbas. They needed to indicate him how eager they have been to signal Salah from Roma.
Having arrived within the night when it was already darkish, they headed dwelling to England just a few hours later with out ever taking their jumpers off. On that return journey, the pair joked they should be the one guests to go away the Gulf resort with out experiencing any solar on their backs.
— Ramy Abbas Issa (@RamyCol) July 1, 2022
That negotiation was comparatively easy because of Salah’s enthusiasm for a return to the Premier League, the place he felt he had a lot to show having barely performed throughout a earlier spell with Chelsea.
When Liverpool’s new sporting director, Richard Hughes, picked up the cellphone to introduce himself to Abbas in July final 12 months, nevertheless, there was a lot work to do.
Hughes had inherited important challenges at Liverpool, beginning with the recruitment of a supervisor/head coach to succeed Jurgen Klopp, who stepped down on the finish of final season after virtually 9 years. Following the hiring of Feyenoord coach Arne Slot to fill that emptiness, Hughes moved on to participant retention: as with Salah, there was solely 11 months left on the contracts of the staff’s captain, Virgil van Dijk, and his deputy, Trent Alexander-Arnold, the Liverpudlian native hero.
Alexander-Arnold’s case was completely different to the others in that he was in his mid-twenties, and had energetic curiosity from Actual Madrid. Salah and Van Dijk have been of their early thirties, and whereas nonetheless acting at an elite degree, Liverpool have been aware that their earlier contracts had been agreed when each have been on the peak of their powers.
The mantra from Liverpool and the membership’s house owners at Fenway Sports activities Group (FSG) was the necessity to ignore the query of, ‘What seems like the proper resolution right this moment?’, and reasonably body it as, ‘What’s going to seem like the proper resolution in future?’.
Virgil van Dijk was additionally holding contract talks (Ryan Pierse/Getty Photos)
That first dialog between Hughes and Abbas was temporary and informal, with the sporting director promising that he could be in contact once more quickly to debate Salah’s future. Like Edwards and Fallows had years earlier, Hughes would subsequently journey to Dubai to see Abbas, going twice earlier than the top of 2024.
The primary assembly, in late September, was held within the bar of one of many metropolis’s quieter eating places however the dialogue was once more quick and casual till Hughes requested Abbas whether or not Salah needed to remain at Liverpool. Abbas advised him that he did, however the sporting director flew again to the UK with Abbas involved the membership may not be prepared to keep up his shopper’s degree of remuneration.
Abbas was impressed by Hughes however was left asking himself whether or not Liverpool valued Salah fairly as a lot as they used to. He puzzled whether or not the dearth of dedication represented a hostile act.
So far as Salah was involved, he was working on the identical degree as the most effective gamers on the planet and displaying no indicators of slowing up, regardless of a disappointing finish to final season after sustaining a hamstring harm on the Africa Cup of Nations in January 2024. The objectives and assists have been flowing.
Salah and Abbas understood the participant’s wage could be according to what he may obtain sooner or later however they needed to maintain his place as one in every of world soccer’s best-paid gamers.
Liverpool, for his or her half, preserve {that a} pay lower was by no means on the agenda and that they all the time needed to maintain Salah. That they had no challenge with Salah pushing for the absolute best phrases and FSG had, in spite of everything, sanctioned profitable offers for gamers — together with Salah — definitely worth the funding. They have been additionally aware of the necessity to attempt to discover widespread floor with Abbas earlier than tabling a proper provide.
There was additionally an acknowledgement, nevertheless, that any deal couldn’t run counter to FSG’s sustainable monetary mannequin and needed to be in the most effective pursuits of the membership. For Liverpool’s house owners, this precept couldn’t be sacrificed, no matter how worthwhile Salah was to the staff’s probabilities of on-pitch success.
Richard Hughes, Liverpool’s sporting director (John Powell/Liverpool FC by way of Getty Photos)
Salah thought the most effective years of his profession have been nonetheless to come back.
Till Manchester Metropolis’s Rodri received it at age 28 final 12 months, Ballon d’Or winners over the earlier decade had all been of their early to mid-thirties and he wasn’t turning 33 till June 2025. Salah believed that his objectives fuelling a profitable Liverpool aspect would permit him to observe legends corresponding to Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric and Karim Benzema in profitable that award, recognising the most effective footballer of the earlier 12 months.
Hughes had travelled to that first assembly alone however Abbas puzzled about Edwards’ involvement behind the scenes. Although he now formally labored for FSG, reasonably than the membership, it was in the end his accountability to handle the budgets within the organisation’s soccer pursuits. Liverpool weren’t in monetary misery. Although the membership was anticipated to submit a loss earlier than tax for the 2023-24 season, it remained nicely throughout the limits for revenue and sustainability guidelines (PSR) for the next marketing campaign.
When Salah final renewed with Liverpool in July 2022, a deal that made him the highest-paid participant within the membership’s historical past, the contract was brokered and signed off by FSG president Mike Gordon. Julian Ward had succeeded Edwards as Liverpool’s sporting director however the meatier conversations have been between Gordon and Abbas. That negotiation was a slog and Abbas and Salah each felt that the participant’s future lay elsewhere simply three weeks earlier than an settlement was reached.
Abbas was uncertain whether or not a decision would have been discovered had Edwards led that course of. He had brokered a fancy package deal that was realistically achievable however, on a primary degree, extra profitable than the determine urged publicly. He was pleased with the deal, realising that the membership and their house owners had prolonged themselves so far as they might to maintain Salah, and even allowed the distinguished Harvard Enterprise College in the US to show it right into a case examine.
Mohamed Salah indicators his earlier contract in 2022, together with Ramy Abbas (going through away from digital camera), and membership officers Jonathan Bamber and Julian Ward (Nick Taylor/Liverpool FC by way of Getty Photos)
The revelation that FSG had authorised a record-breaking deal to maintain Liverpool’s star man meant it was harder for any of its critics to accuse it of being tight with cash however it additionally suited the house owners to maintain the figures decrease. If it was recognized that Salah was incomes significantly greater than a few of his team-mates, there was a hazard that Liverpool’s pay construction would spiral uncontrolled.
FSG introduced Edwards again into the organisation in March final 12 months to attempt to re-establish a sequence of command that existed at Liverpool earlier than it grew to become a manager-led operation underneath Klopp. The house owners knew how ruthless Edwards may very well be. But past him and Hughes, Abbas couldn’t shake the sensation that Gordon would additionally nonetheless be concerned when it got here to the ultimate figures, if the negotiations ever acquired to that stage. FSG’s cash was in the end Gordon’s, and he could be the one signing off any deal.
In a second Dubai assembly between Abbas and Hughes in October, the dialog didn’t transfer on very far, with the lawyer concluding the dialogue was mild on significant content material. It was his view that negotiations had not even actually began. Abbas’ coverage had all the time been to let the membership make the primary transfer, permitting him to see clearly how extremely they valued his shopper. The dearth of tempo or urgency apprehensive him.
In direction of the top of November, Abbas didn’t know the way a lot Liverpool have been prepared to pay Salah or how lengthy they needed him to remain. Although he was advised there was a suggestion within the making, nothing occurred. He was assured Liverpool would ship on their promise finally, however was more and more starting to assume it will solely be performed to avoid wasting face, permitting the membership to say that they had tried to maintain Salah — despite the fact that they knew the provide made to him could be rejected.
This explains why, on November 24, after he’d scored twice within the second half to encourage that win at Southampton, the participant determined to talk to journalists about his future, telling them he was disillusioned to not have acquired a brand new contract provide, earlier than making his “extra out than in” feedback relating to the 2025-26 season.
Nothing that Salah says publicly is completed with out consideration. He’s hardly ever impulsive and little is improvised. Initially, he deliberate to inform UK broadcaster Sky Sports activities about his frustrations however within the speedy post-match interview, he was not requested about his future. Outdoors the stadium, as he boarded the staff bus, he requested print journalists whether or not they have been prepared to ask the tough questions.
It was uncommon to listen to a participant as non-public as Salah converse so overtly. But on this event, he felt as if he was in a position to assault the state of affairs as a result of Abbas solely represents him. Neither the participant nor the lawyer had team-mates or different purchasers to think about at Liverpool.
Salah would subsequently obtain criticism, notably from Sky Sports activities pundit Jamie Carragher, a former Liverpool defender, for talking out. A comparability was drawn with Van Dijk, however Abbas had been advised that the Dutchman had already acquired a contract provide whereas his shopper had not. Due to this fact, Salah had extra of a motive to go public about his issues.
Hughes had taken the view early on within the course of that he had no want to place something regarding the contract talks within the public area, reasoning that doing so would solely trigger points for Salah (who he needed to focus merely on scoring objectives and profitable video games), new coach Slot or the staff as a complete.
This typically meant the membership being subjected to ferocious criticism, notably on social media, for seemingly permitting talks to float and uncertainty to foment. A fan’s banner additionally appeared on the Kop throughout a match at Anfield, nodding to Salah’s ‘bow and arrow’ objective celebration, urging FSG: “He fires a bow, now give Mo his dough!”
But, for Hughes, it was deemed a worth value paying, even after the Southampton recreation when the temptation to grow to be drawn right into a public debate might have been acute. Following that banner’s recommendation would have been the antithesis of FSG’s ideas.
A banner on the Kop encouraging FSG to finalise Salah’s new contract (Visionhaus/Getty Photos)
Abbas was open-minded concerning the size of any new contract, regardless of some claims the difficulty was inflicting a dispute. If the provide was proper, Salah was prepared to increase his keep at Liverpool by just one 12 months. But as November become December, each events weren’t even on the numbers stage.
It was definitely in Liverpool’s curiosity to make sure Salah’s deal was the final one signed among the many three gamers approaching free company. If he have been the primary and his wage remained excessive, the consultant of each different participant on the membership would have a determine to work from throughout their very own contract negotiations. It was Abbas’ view that Salah was the star participant and, simply as Andriy Shevchenko (a striker) had earned extra money than Paolo Maldini (a defender) at Milan many years earlier, so Salah deserved the extra profitable package deal.
With the main focus swinging from Liverpool’s table-topping surge within the Premier League to Salah’s future after his phrases with reporters in Southampton, champions Manchester Metropolis have been the staff’s subsequent opponents at Anfield the next Sunday — December 1. Earlier within the week, Abbas had flown into London’s Heathrow Airport, taking a gathering with a sponsor in Manchester earlier than an evening again in London, the place he ate at one in every of his favorite Japanese eating places. He travelled north once more by prepare, arriving in Liverpool just a few hours earlier than kick-off and heading right into a hospitality suite on the stadium with out anybody from the media noticing him.
Although Hughes had contacted him about Salah’s feedback the earlier weekend, there was no summit with the sporting director. After watching the match, which Liverpool received 2-0, with Salah scoring the late clincher, Abbas flew again the subsequent morning to Dubai by way of Manchester, no nearer to understanding the place his shopper’s future lay.
Abbas had earmarked the beginning of February as a cut-off level for any resolution. That would go away an affordable period of time to attempt to discover a decision with Liverpool, or failing that, attain an settlement some place else.
Overseas golf equipment couldn’t formally discuss to Salah till January. Abbas was planning to spend the primary month of 2025 broadening his shopper’s choices however he knew that Salah’s precedence was to re-sign with Liverpool. He was having fun with enjoying underneath Slot, and admired the pinnacle coach’s sense of superiority — he didn’t appear to thoughts embracing the expectations that fall upon the membership.
Beforehand, Klopp appreciated to forged himself because the underdog however Slot was the alternative: Liverpool have been a worldwide superpower who needs to be profitable trophies. Salah revered that perspective. Whereas Klopp had frequently complained concerning the demanding fixture schedule, Slot appeared to relish it. There have been no excuses — it was all on the supervisor, the employees and the gamers to seek out options.
By Christmas, Liverpool have been main the Premier League by 4 factors and likewise prime of the reformatted Champions League desk. Salah was satisfied this was his and the membership’s season of alternative. Abbas, by comparability, believed success didn’t all the time result in good sporting or enterprise selections. Win the league and it will be a a lot simpler argument for Liverpool to then let Salah go, because the fan strain may not be as important.
This doubtlessly left a curious dynamic: might or not it’s true that the higher Salah and Liverpool did, the weaker his probabilities of staying at Anfield past the summer time of 2025 grew to become? Salah needed to play on the highest degree for so long as potential. If Liverpool ended up profitable the Premier League and Champions League, then wherever else at that time was down so far as he was involved.
On the flip of the 12 months, this made the Saudi Professional League a low-probability vacation spot. Although it was a league with mind-boggling assets, Saudi Arabia was additionally a growing nation in soccer phrases. Salah additionally beloved residing in England, the place his household privateness was revered — he has a spouse and two daughters who’re nicely settled within the county of Cheshire, simply south of Liverpool — and he might concentrate on his profession. Would that be the identical if he returned to the Center East?
Within the long-term, Abbas was excited about the US however Main League Soccer didn’t make any approaches. Whereas there was press hypothesis that Paris Saint-Germain have been an alternative choice, in early January, the French membership’s president Nasser Al-Khelaifi denied he was concentrating on the participant.
By mid-January, the participant’s sponsors have been getting twitchy, eager to know the place Salah’s future lay. Abbas did the maths about what a transfer to France would imply — Salah’s endorsements would take a severe hit as a result of Ligue 1 doesn’t have the identical international visibility because the Premier League. This contributed to Abbas being extra inclined in the direction of an extended keep in England, ideally with Liverpool. Salah wouldn’t trash his legacy by becoming a member of a rival, which dominated out each Manchester Metropolis and neighbours United.
There was some intrigue about Chelsea, the place he’d performed for simply over a 12 months throughout 2014 and early 2015 and was thought of a failure as he was first loaned to Fiorentina and fellow Italians Roma, then offered to the latter in August 2016. Salah felt as if he nonetheless had one thing to show at Stamford Bridge, but any deal to return was reliant on Chelsea abandoning a switch technique that focuses on signing younger gamers. Any transfer to a different English membership was additionally made extra sophisticated by the actual fact none of them have been legally allowed to barter with Salah till Could.
Salah feels he has unfinished enterprise with Chelsea (Richard Heathcote/Getty Photos)
By the top of January, Salah had advised his household that there was an opportunity they must uproot from their Cheshire dwelling. For Abbas, there have been now two clear choices: keep at Liverpool, or, considerably reluctantly, agree a cope with the one various that would fulfill his monetary expectations.
That meant one of many Saudi Arabian golf equipment, almost definitely reigning champions Al Hilal within the capital, Riyadh, who had needed him for his or her Membership World Cup marketing campaign this summer time. Although Abbas had held talks with different golf equipment owned by the state Public Funding Fund (PIF), he was more and more starting to assume that the curiosity in his shopper was a allure offensive by the nation’s soccer powers to indicate how extremely Salah was valued.
Abbas didn’t have a suggestion in writing however the numbers the Saudis have been speaking about would take away any issues about sponsors and the way they might react. His contacts in Saudi Arabia advised him that if Salah needed to maneuver there, then a suggestion would come, although Abbas was conscious of what may occur if it grew to become clear first {that a} new deal was not taking place at Liverpool. Doubtlessly, this would go away Salah uncovered and instantly he could be in a patrons’ market.
Of extra significance, nevertheless, was what was taking place nearer to dwelling.
By early December, Liverpool had lastly made Salah a suggestion. Abbas’ fears have been allayed and he thought of it one thing to work from. He was happier now with the best way issues have been going due to the regularity of the contact with the membership.
Liverpool appeared extra severe however Haaland’s nine-year contract at Metropolis, introduced in the midst of January, had the potential to complicate issues. What was he incomes? Abbas understood that any deal for Salah could be a lot shorter but when Haaland was setting the speed for forwards, given Salah was outscoring him and enjoying for a staff larger up the desk, his wage should be aggressive with what Metropolis have been paying the Norwegian.
By now, hypothesis was reaching fever pitch, one thing Abbas discovered faintly amusing.
When it was urged by native media on Merseyside on the finish of January that he was flying in for talks, Abbas posted an image on Instagram of the view from his dwelling in Dubai.
Midway the world over, Salah continued to hit landmarks: after scoring his fiftieth European objective for Liverpool on January 21 in a Champions League recreation towards Lille, Slot spoke about his “elite mindset”. Again in Dubai, Abbas had dinner together with his spouse earlier than watching that recreation at their condominium. Regardless of making progress, he and Liverpool remained far away from an settlement.
After January, nevertheless, Salah did his greatest to divert questions on his future.
In an interview with Sky, he insisted he didn’t know which membership he was going to be enjoying for after this season, suggesting that if these have been his remaining months at Liverpool, he didn’t need his reminiscences of the interval connected to any wrangling associated to an impending exit. As an alternative, the main focus could be on his and the membership’s makes an attempt to convey extra trophies to Anfield.
The change of techniques was additionally a mirrored image of momentum shifting, with progress being made between Hughes and Abbas. On Valentine’s Day, Abbas was in a considerably combative temper, posting on Instagram about too many social media customers craving “consideration and validation” from individuals they’ve by no means met, earlier than switching to X, the place he was reasonably extra complimentary about Liverpool’s head coach, who he mentioned was “wonderful at his job” after taking the staff seven factors clear on the prime of the Premier League.
Slot, in the meantime, was making it clear in interviews that he needed Salah to remain, and the dedication of the participant to proceed with Liverpool mirrored the respect the Dutchman had gained throughout his debut season.
Arne Slot has struck up a superb relationship with Salah (Alex Livesey/Getty Photos)
Outdoors the membership, many have been baffled why all this was taking so lengthy. Internally, Liverpool have been relaxed about leaving any resolution about Salah as late as potential.
They knew the retention of Salah would permit Liverpool to proceed because the “vacation spot membership” that they had grow to be underneath Klopp, however they thought of it good follow to attend, because the staff had settled right into a rhythm, and this time gave Hughes and different membership officers extra of a possibility to make sure the participant was able to sustaining his performances at age 33 and past.
The deal, when it was introduced simply earlier than 8am on Friday UK time, concerned photographs of Salah sitting on a throne beneath the Anfield floodlights at evening. That they had been taken the earlier night, when it was simpler to get him out and in of the stadium with out being seen.
For Liverpool, the announcement was a vindication of the work Hughes and Edwards have performed behind the scenes, and of the impression made by Slot since his arrival final summer time. The membership really feel the identical can be true of Van Dijk, whose personal two-year contract extension can also be nearing affirmation.
Salah’s team-mates had lengthy anticipated him to commit his future to Liverpool, not simply due to his contribution this season, however due to the connection he has struck up with Slot and the way optimistic he has been concerning the head coach serving to to raise his recreation over course of this season. They’ve additionally been struck by how Salah has embraced the accountability that comes with being a part of the membership’s management group and the help he offers to the youthful gamers as a task mannequin.
When the video was launched on Friday morning, Abbas was again in Dubai. In some methods, coping with him had been easy as a result of solely he acts on Salah’s behalf, and Salah is a footballer who doesn’t have an entourage interfering in his affairs, not like different gamers of his stature.
Abbas has no emotional connection as to the place Salah performs his soccer — for him, it’s merely a case of getting the most effective deal for his shopper, and he is aware of Liverpool are good for enterprise.
However Salah was determined to remain, as have been his household. Within the video launched by LFCTV, he spoke about how his daughter Makkah was “the happiest one within the household” when he advised the household he was staying as a result of she didn’t need to transfer away from her college and buddies.
Regardless of some difficulties, the dialogue between Abbas and Hughes was respectful, serving to them prolong a relationship that, till this level, has labored out handsomely for everybody.
Extra reporting: James Pearce
(Prime picture: Carl Recine/Getty Photos; design: Eamonn Dalton)