Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Football, Mohamed Salah, Liverpool, Saudi Arabia, Saudi Pro League
Chris Byfield
Topics: Football, Mohamed Salah, Liverpool, Saudi Arabia, Saudi Pro League
Mohamed Salah could be blacklisted from the Saudi Pro League even if his transfer goes through should his agent do one thing.
Al Ittihad saw a £150million offer for Salah rejected right at the close of the European transfer window, with the Reds insisting the player was not for sale.
The bid for the Egyptian, who signed a new three-year contract with Liverpool only last summer, was an initial offer in the region of £100million, with add-ons taking it up to £150million.
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But a move for Salah did not materialise, with Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp having maintained Salah would be staying at the club.
However, the Saudi Pro League director of football Michael Emenalo insisted that the door for Salah to join the Saudi Pro League was not closed, with the burgeoning league likely to make another offer either in January or next summer.
Emenalo told Sky Sports: "If it didn't happen, it's not because we no longer fancy the player, or because we have a problem with Liverpool. It's because certain things that need to align for all the parties involved in the process didn't align.
"Nobody is angry, we move on, but we absolutely close no doors and if the opportunity is there to do things and do it well - and it brings Mohamed Salah to the Saudi Pro League we will all be very grateful."
While Salah’s move to Saudi Arabia very much remains a possibility, any prospective deal could reportedly fall apart should his agent try to use Saudi clubs against one another, in an attempt to drive up his client’s wage.
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The New York Times claimed back in July that the Pro League had recommended Saudi clubs a list of 24 recommended signings for the summer.
The list was predominantly made up of players in their early 30s, many of whom were out of contract at European teams.
The league was also said to have issued clubs with a set of ground rules when looking to lure players to the division.
The first dictated that any player commanding an annual salary of more than $3million (£2.29milion) would have to be approved by the league.
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The second was that teams are not to negotiate against one another. Should any player or agent be found to be using one team as a bargaining chip against another to elicit a more lucrative salary, they would be “immediately blacklisted”.