Mohamed Salah announced on Tuesday that he would be leaving Liverpool at the end of the current season.
The Egyptian King, 33, is under contract until 2027 but instead an agreement has been reached that will see him depart one year ahead of schedule.
Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes tied Salah to a new, two-year contract extension last April at a cost of £400k per week.
Although Salah led Liverpool to the Premier League title - and won all the major individual awards along the way - it’s fair to say the club haven’t got value out of the deal.
And amid declining output the decision has been made to let Salah go for nothing at the end of the campaign.
This is a scarcely believable situation for outside observers. Surely one of the reasons for a two-year extension was for the club to recoup some of the costs via a sale if things went south?
It’s no secret that Salah has got suitors in Saudi Arabia with Al-Ittihad presenting an offer valued at around £150m back in 2023. Salah stayed put and was linked with a high-profile free transfer last summer prior to inking his new deal.
Richard Hughes had cleverly positioned Liverpool for a sale - guaranteeing a fortune if they decided to cut ties with Salah as seemed likely in December.
Salah fell out with Arne Slot - accusing the club of throwing him under the bus - and his Anfield career looked in real danger. But player and club patched things up with Salah being brought back in for the cold.
Now it’s emerged that Liverpool missed out on a potential £100m windfall in the winter transfer window - with a message emerging to suitors that Salah was off limits.
A report from Lewis Steele confirms that Saudi Pro League clubs valued Salah at £100m ahead of the January window.
A bid may well have forced Liverpool’s hand - landing FSG a transfer jackpot and giving Hughes additional weaponry heading into into the summer window.
“Clubs could have tested the Reds' resolve in the winter market but decided against it,” the report reads.
“Saudi sides thought they would have to pay around £100m to get him in January, noting that is what they were willing to pay for Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes last summer.
“Al Hilal, Al Qadsiah and new club Neom posted an interest in Salah in late December.”
It remains to be seen where Salah ends up next season with the aforementioned Saudi clubs as well as teams in MLS interested in his services.
Any transfer fee-sized figure is now likely to be trousered by the Egyptian in the form of a signing-on fee.
It seems FSG’s mortal fear of losing big players on a free has come true all over again. And how they will be counting the cost of this failed transfer windfall.
