CAIRO – Mohamed Salah’s new Liverpool contract has made him the highest-paid player in the club’s history, but the forward insists it is the quest for trophies which drives him on.
Salah has said it is “a happy day for everyone” after finally committing his future to Liverpool by signing a new three-year contract that makes him the highest-paid player in the club’s history.
“I feel great and [I am] excited to win trophies with the club,” Salah told Liverpool’s website.
It is understood that Liverpool have agreed to pay Salah about £350,000 a week, although the new contract includes a number of performance-related clauses that mean the forward will be rewarded according to the number of goals he scores or is involved in.
“It’s a happy day for everyone. It takes a little bit of time, I think, to renew, but now everything is done so we just need to focus on what’s next.
“You can see in the last five or six years the team was always going [upwards]. Last season we were close to winning four, but unfortunately in the last week of the season we lost two trophies.
“I think we are in a good position to fight for everything. We have new signings as well. We just need to keep working hard, have a good vision, be positive and go for everything again.”
Salah won his third Golden Boot in five seasons since joining from Roma in 2017 as Liverpool were pipped to the Premier League title by Manchester City by a point and has scored 156 times in 254 appearances.
Salah has had five successful seasons at Anfield already, helping Liverpool win the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, EFL Cup, Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup. Inevitably, this had drawn admiring glances from the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Nevertheless, Salah was integral to Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp’s team mounting a challenge for the Premier League title the following term as they notched 97 points and succumbed to defeat just once all season.
And though they would ultimately miss out on the crown by a single point, Liverpool secured a sixth European Cup by defeating Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League final in Madrid, with Salah netting the opening goal from the penalty spot.
Last season, the forward again hit the 31-goal mark to help Liverpool to a domestic cup double as well as going close in the Premier League and Champions League once more, narrowly losing out in both.
He again collected both the FWA and PFA prizes for the year’s outstanding player in recognition of his form – and added the Premier League Playmaker prize for most assists to his latest Golden Boot.
The 30-year-old, who celebrated his birthday last month, currently sits in ninth place in the list of Liverpool’s all-time top scorers – and this new deal represents an opportunity for him to elevate himself even further up those standings and help Klopp’s men chase further silverware in the coming seasons.
Salah added: “My message [to the fans] is the players in the team want to give our best next season to try to win all the trophies.
“As usual, you stay behind us and give us a big push and I am sure we are going to win trophies again [together].”
Klopp was delighted to see Salah extend his stay at Anfield and believes the Reds have not yet seen the best of the forward.
Klopp said he was “really pleased – really, really pleased”, adding: “It’s the best decision for us and best decision for him. He belongs with us, I think. This is his club now.
“I have no doubt Mo’s best years are still to come. And that’s saying something, because the first five seasons here have been the stuff of legend.”
Speaking to Liverpool’s official website, Klopp raved about the physical power of Salah, an often overlooked aspect of his game. His silky skills and finishing prowess grab the focus, with Salah scoring 31 goals and adding 15 assists in 51 games last season.
However, Klopp said: “Fitness-wise, he’s a machine – in the most incredible shape. He works hard on it, and he gets his rewards. His ability and his skill level gets higher each season, and his decision-making has gone to another level also.
