Soccer

‘Liverpool will sell Mohamed Salah if Saudis come knocking with more than £200m’

Liverpool will sell Mo Salah if they're offered a world record fee for him, according to ex-Reds midfielder Jason McAteer.

Salah is the subject of intense interest from Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad, who are lining up a bid north of £200million to coax the forward to the Gulf state this week.

It's understood the club, who are bankrolled by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), are prepared to turn Salah into the face of the division by offering a mega-lucrative contract that will see him earning more than Cristiano Ronaldo, who joined Al-Nassr in December last year.

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has continuously played down talks of Salah leaving, but McAteer reckons once the Merseyside club have a concrete world record offer on the table they won't be able to resist it.

READ MORE: Liverpool offered world record £215m for Mo Salah transfer as Al Ittihad chiefs fly in

"I’ve read all the papers, and as much as Jurgen Klopp wants to bang the door and say he’s not for sale, everything's got a price in life," McAteer said speaking to BoyleSports about Premier League betting.

"If they come knocking with £200-250 million, the owners, I just don't think they can turn that kind of money down for a 31-year-old who is in the last two years of this contract."

The 52-year-old, who made over 100 appearances for Liverpool between 1995 and 1999, labelled the Saudi Pro League "the real deal" and said people still don't realise how much of an impact their spending will have on world football.

If you were in Salah's shoes, what would you do. Stay at Liverpool or move to Saudi Arabia? Let us know in the comments section below.

"Everyone's been caught by surprise. I think they've seen it coming but I don't think they realised how aggressive the Saudi League was going to be. They've been left to their own devices. And all of a sudden everyone sat up and thought, 'this is the real deal'," he said.

‌"It's got more sustainable than what China had when they tried to do it. There's a lot of money being thrown around. They’re making massive statements in the world of football. [And it's happened] very, very quickly."

Should the move go through Salah will join the likes of Karim Benzema, N'Golo Kante and former Liverpool team-mate Fabinho at Al-Ittihad, who have won four of their opening five league matches this season.

He'll also become the most expensive player in history providing the transfer fee is above the £195m PSG spent on Neymar in 2017.

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