The saga surrounding Mo Salah leaving Liverpool for the Saudi Pro League is over. Well, for now at least.
Salah has remained on Merseyside after Liverpool held their nerve. Bids of around £150m and more were apparently rejected by Liverpool.
And according to Miguel Delaney, there was a key reason behind FSG not sanctioning the sale of Salah from Liverpool to Saudi in the end.
Liverpool refuse Mo Salah to Saudi thanks to fan feeling
Writing in his latest Reading the Game column for The Independent, journalist Delaney has said that Liverpool were prepared to move Salah on.
However, in the end, the feeling supporters had towards Salah actually prevented a sale.
“The window closed without the major move that had been expected – and there was some relief around Liverpool, in particular, about that – but plans are already afoot to move into the next stage for the next summer window,” Delaney wrote.
“The signing of Gabri Veiga was an indication of what will follow, as the target now is bring down the age of all purchases. This, as one industry figure put it, really is just the start. On Mohamed Salah, there has been a feeling in the game that Liverpool were actually prepared to discuss his sale since such huge money for a 31-year-old makes business sense and arguably football sense.
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“The issue was how much he means to supporters and how difficult it would have been to reshape everything this late.”
The right call
As Delaney mentions here, the issue of replacing Salah with no window to work in is a major problem.
However, it’s interesting to read that the actual fan relationship here played a part in the decision from FSG and Liverpool.
It just goes to show that some clubs are very much still taking fan power into consideration. And at a club like Liverpool, that is important.
For now, Salah remains. But it does feel like a matter of time.