Despite their financial difficulties, Barcelona have accelerated their summer transfer business in recent days. The free signings of Frank Kessie and Andreas Christensen have been confirmed.
Their pursuits of the likes of Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski are also looking more promising, while Ousmane Dembele is set to sign a new contract on reduced terms.
However, it would appear Raphinha wasn’t the only right-winger the Catalonian side have been eyeing up.
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The Athletic report Barcelona were keeping a watchful eye on Mo Salah.
The La Liga outfit were hoping to sign the 30-year-old next summer upon his 2023 contract expiry on a free transfer.
However, the Egyptian international has since signed a contract extension at Liverpool. He’ll be earning a record-breaking wage at Anfield, up to £400,000 a week.
Liverpool’s decision to hand Salah a new deal is reflective of how valuable he is to Jürgen Klopp.
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The Merseysiders' tend to work under a stringent wage structure, but have chosen to breach it to keep Salah on board.
As such, Salah surpasses Liverpool’s previous highest earner, Virgil Van Dijk, who rakes in roughly £225,000 a week, by quite some distance.
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The Liverpool hierarchy will be hoping Salah’s contract extension does not have a domino effect.
A few of Salah’s fellow key players at Liverpool such as Van Dijk, Alisson, and Trent Alexander-Arnold could be left scratching their heads if they aren’t offered similar financial packages in the future.
For better or for worse, Salah’s wage has set the bar at Liverpool.
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As for Barcelona, they’re simply incapable of offering the sort of money to players that Liverpool have handed to Salah.
They continue to try to persuade potential new signings and current stars to take wage cuts in order to play for them. The Spanish giants are gambling hard on success under Xavi.
Topics: Barcelona, Liverpool, Mohamed Salah
Robert Worthington