The Two Departures From Liverpool That Made The Mo Salah Deal Happen

Moahmed Salah’s new wages were funded by the departures of Sadio Mane and Divock Origi as Liverpool made the Egyptian a priority, according to the Telegraph.

Salah had been the subject of intense debate around the Merseyside club’s allocation of resources, with his contract saga dragging on for several months.

The Egypt international’s deal was set to expire in the summer of 2023, but the Reds opted to tie him down to a new lucrative deal, breaking their stringent wage structure.

However, Chris Bascombe of the Telegraph has revealed that the decision was made possible by the departures of Mane and Origi, both of whom were on considerable salaries.

The journalist said: “Liverpool have been adept at taking the emotion out of contract decisions."

"Increasing the wages of Salah and Mane, with both players in their 30s, could have been considered an expensive risk.

“Replacing Mane with a player eight years his junior, Darwin Nunez, while rewarding Salah for his extraordinary feats maintains a healthy balance while ensuring the squad’s salaries remain structured."

“Divock Origi was also earning £100,000 a week before his contract expired on June 30th."

"It is reasonable to presume that Liverpool saw the merit of diverting this salary straight into Salah’s wage packet."

“Liverpool will spend the rest of this summer reducing their wage bill with sales rather than making new purchases.”

Salah won last season’s Premier League golden boot alongside Tottenham’s Son Heung-Min, scoring 23 goals and has netted 156 times across 254 appearances for Liverpool. 

Jurgen Klopp and the decision makers at Anfield deemed this prolific goal scoring too important to lose in this window and thus offered the new deal. 

Now this contractual situation has been dealt with, Klopp will turn his attention to offloading more players from what has become a bloated squad.

The likes of Mane, Origi and Takumi Minamino have already left the North West, while Neco Williams, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita could all also depart this summer.