Liverpool must make difficult Mo Salah call as £17bn Saudi Pro League plan revealed

The Saudi Pro League has reportedly been handed a £17 billion transfer budget over seven years to acquire top football stars - which may leave Liverpool with a difficult decision to make over Mohamed Salah.

Saudi Arabia has already spent significant amounts to lure away some of Europe's best players this summer.

Roberto Firmino, Karim Benzema and N'Golo Kante have all made big money moves, with the wages on offer from Saudi clubs hugely eclipsing their previous salaries.

The league has now turned its attentions to Kylian Mbappe - who is arguably the best player in the world. Al Hilal have had a £259 million bid for Mbappe accepted by PSG.

And while some may expect spending to slow slightly if the signature of the Frenchman is required, it doesn't appear as if that will be the case.

According to CBS Sports journalist Ben Jacobs, the Saudi Pro League has £17 billion to spend between now and 2030.

It is claimed that the league also wants to sign Neymar and Luka Modric, with Robert Lewandowski also a target for 2024. However, the Polish striker does not want to move.

With spending set to continue, Liverpool may need to be on red alert.

Liverpool could have Salah decision to make

Saudi Pro League sides have already taken an interest in Liverpool stars, with club captain Jordan Henderson having completed a medical at Al Ettifaq.

Al Ittihad, meanwhile, have been in talks with Fabinho. However, The Athletic's David Ornstein claims that the move is now in jeopardy.

One Liverpool star that is yet to receive an offer from Saudi Arabia is Mohamed Salah.

Qatar-based outlet Alkass claimed in June that clubs were interested in Salah, but any move away from Anfield this summer remains unlikely.

I’m totally devastated. There’s absolutely no excuse for this. We had everything we needed to make it to next year’s Champions League and we failed. We are Liverpool and qualifying to the competition is the bare minimum. I am sorry but it’s too soon for an uplifting or optimistic… pic.twitter.com/qZmA9WsueM

— Mohamed Salah (@MoSalah) May 25, 2023

For his part, Salah appears to be happy at Liverpool, and took to Twitter at the end of last season to state his drive to push the Reds back to Premier League title contention during the upcoming campaign.

The issue for Liverpool is if Saudi Pro League spending continues every summer.

As one of the world's elite footballers, it would be no surprise for Saudi clubs to push to attempt to sign the Liverpool forward - particularly as his deal would expire in a year's time by next summer.

Whether Salah would accept such an approach remains to be seen, and he could decide to extend his contract with Liverpool.

If it comes down to it by the time next summer rolls around, however, the Reds may need to decide whether to sell the Egyptian and profit from a small part of the £17 billion budget - or whether they can successfully convince him to stay at Anfield.