Mo Salah’s Liverpool’s contract: where would reported £500k p/w demands rank him among football’s top earners?

Liverpool are aiming to extend Mohamed Salah’s Anfield contract.

After already ensuring key players Virgil van Dijk, Alisson Becker, Fabinho, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson committed their futures in recent months, the Reds are looking to do the same with their talisman.

The Egypt international’s current deal expires in less than two years’ time and the Reds are keen to tie him down for longer.

But Salah’s wage demands have reportedly meant that negotiations, at this moment, have broken down.

At a glance: 5 key points 

- Salah joined Liverpool from Roma for a fee of £43 million in the summer of 2017.

- He’s made a terrific impact at Anfield, scoring 127 goals in 206 games to date.

- In his first season, he bagged the Premier League’s Golden Boot with 32 goals, setting a new record.

- Salah was crucial to the Reds winning the Champions League in 2019 and the Premier League the following campaign.

- However, it remains to be seen if he will put pen to paper to stay longer on Merseyside.

What’s been reported

The Daily Mirror has claimed that Salah wants a significant pay hike to remain at Anfield beyond June 2023.

The former Chelsea forward is thought to presently earn around £200,000 per week, having last signed a new deal in July 2018.

A weekly wage of half-a-million pounds would make Salah by far Liverpool’s highest earner in their history.

But such demands are supposedly causing an impasse.

What’s been said

Jurgen Klopp has been tight-lipped when it comes to reaching an agreement.

The Liverpool manager has, however, confirmed that talks are ongoing with Salah.

Speaking last month, Klopp told reporters: “Mo is in a really good moment football-wise, mood-wise, how he behaves from the first day when he came back, absolutely great.

“So we are all adults, all professionals and when there are talks, there are talks and when there’s a decision we will tell you.

“Until then it’s unimportant how the parties work together in these things. We don’t have to talk about people in the background.

“With two years left you can imagine that there are talks, that’s it.”

Where would £500k per week rank Salah among the world’s highest-earning footballers?

It’s difficult to know exactly what each player is earning. But if the figures being bandied around are correct, it would place Salah fourth on the list.

It’s no surprise that Lionel Messi’s move to petrodollar-fuelled Paris Saint-Germain from Barcelona earlier this summer makes him the highest earner.

The Argentina legend apparently nets around £620,000 per week after tax.

PSG team-mate Neymar is supposedly just behind Messi on £606,000 per week.

Next comes Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale, who’s believed to be on £600,000 per week.

Some £500k per week would place Salah at the top in the Premier League - and surprisingly above Cristiano Ronaldo.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner took a pay cut to rejoin Manchester United from Juventus in the summer. He collects £480,000 per week, according to the Manchester Evening News.

It’s hardly a shock that Romelu Lukaku’s £97.5m move to Chelsea from Inter Milan put him at the top of the Stamford Bridge wage bill.

The Athletic reports that he nets between £325,000-a-week to £450,000-a-week depending on bonuses.

Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne was previously the Premier League’s top earner on £385,00 per week while Jack Grealish - who joined the Etihad from Aston Villa for £100 million - bags up to £380,000 per week.

Will Salah sign a new contract?

If the reports are true, Liverpool would have to smash their wage structure to give Salah such wages.

Although Van Dijk and Co would have been given deserved pay rises when signing their new deals as reward, it wouldn’t have thrown the current system out of kilter.

The Reds have configured a wage structure that creates harmony and unity in the dressing room, which continues onto the pitch.

To go against their beliefs, Liverpool would risk upsetting players.

That could then lead to others demanding similar rises.

The Reds’ latest accounts showed the current wage bill was already at £325 million, which was an increase of £15 million and only £26 million less than Man City in the top flight.

After the likes of Van Dijk and Henderson penned their futures, that’s likely to have swollen further.

What would it mean to keep Salah?

It would be a real statement of intent.

Tying the 29-year-old down to a long-term deal down would mean that he is spending his peak years at Anfield.

In recent years, Liverpool have had the likes of Luis Suarez, Phillippe Coutinho (both Barcelona) and Fernando Torres (Chelsea) poached when they’ve been in their pomp.

But retaining Salah would underline the fact that Liverpool are among Europe’s creme de la creme.

Could Salah leave for free?

Liverpool witnessed Gini Wijnaldum walk away for nothing at the end of last season to join PSG after his deal had concluded.

The Reds likely would not look to repeat that action, especially someone the ilk of Salah.

As per Transfermrkt, Salah is currently valued at £135 million. Next summer, his price tag will decline due to the length of his deal but he’d still be worth tens of millions.

If Liverpool got on offer, it would test their mettle.

Who might be keeping an eye on Salah?

You’d expect all of the European superpowers would be eyeing a move if he was available.

PSG will lose Mbappe to Real Madrid next summer and they’ll likely look to replace him.

Given the sort of salaries the French club are currently paying Messi and Neymar, you’d be surprised if they hesitated to give Salah similar to what he’s demanding.

Real Madrid have also been credited with interest in the past. Gareth Bale’s contract runs out at the end of the season, which will free up significant funds.