Before he was made the highest paid player in Liverpool history, Mohamed Salah was prepared to make a move to Chelsea, according to reports.
On Friday, Mo Salah put pen to paper with Liverpool, securing himself a three-year deal with the club and earning a club record £400,000-a-week.
The former Chelsea man sealed this after another fantastic season with the Reds, he netted 23 goals in the Premier League and shared the golden boot with Tottenham’s Son Heung-min.
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This money offered to Salah came as a surprise, as the club's hierarchy broke what is a very strict wage structure to complete the extension.
The deal sees him overtake Virgil Van Dijk, who earns £225,000-a-week, to become the sides highest earner, which may potentially cause some issues down the line for FSG as other players will come with higher demands for their contracts.
Having lost the services of Sadio Mane this summer to Bayern Munich for £35 million, Liverpool would not want to let another star go.
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According to reports from The Sun, Liverpool stepped up the negotiations and gave into Salah’s demands following Chelsea’s interest in the winger.
While PSG and Real Madrid were monitoring his contract situation, Chelsea were most definitely on the cards as a potential destination for Salah.
New owner Todd Boehly had a move lined up for the forward as talks were stalling over his contract.
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Chelsea, who are still yet to make a transfer this window, were promised up to six summer signings as Thomas Tuchel looks to rebuild the squad, and Salah could have been one of them.
Having played his last match for Chelsea eight years ago, the return to west London would have been a remarkable move.
During his time with the Blues, Salah failed to impress and was shipped to A.S. Roma.
Then he earned a transfer back to English football with Liverpool and developed into one of the best wingers the Premier League has ever seen.
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Salah would have been a mighty coup, but following the last signing Chelsea made of a former player, of course being Romelu Lukaku, they might want to avoid forking out huge money for ex-players.
There are other options on the table for the Blues, the deal for Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling is on the verge of completion with a £45 million plus add-ons transfer being negotiated.
They also remain keen on signing Leeds United ace Raphinha but face stiff competition from Barcelona.
Topics: Mohamed Salah, Chelsea, Liverpool