Saudi side ‘will’ renew push for Salah as Ronaldo is embarrassed by ‘icon’ claim on Liverpool star
Mohamed Salah laughs ahead of game for Liverpool
The Saudi Pro League ‘will make renewed attempts’ to sign Mohamed Salah next summer as the Liverpool winger is reportedly ‘even more important’ for the league than Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Saudi top division shelled around £750million on fresh talent in the summer. A large quantity of those stars came from Europe, with big names such as Karim Benzema and Ruben Neves opting to move to Saudi Arabia.
The aim of those who run the league was to raise its profile, and taking big names there was seen as the best way to do so.
There were a couple of massive transfers that didn’t go through despite Saudi clubs’ desperation to sign a pair of big names.
Kylian Mbappe was one, with Al-Hilal offering in the region of £260million for the Frenchman, which would have smashed the world transfer record.
Another failed move was that of Liverpool superstar Salah.
At the back end of the summer window, Al-Ittihad made attempts to snare the Egyptian, with a £200million bid being reported.
But Liverpool kept him, and have reaped the rewards of that so far this season, with Salah bagging 14 goals in all competitions to this point.
SPL will renew Salah push
It’s been reported since the window closed that the winger will ‘almost certainly’ leave the club if another attempt to sign him is made.
Liverpool will be fearful, then, as the Daily Mail reports another offer is coming.
Indeed, the report states the Saudi Pro League ‘will make renewed attempts’ to sign Salah next summer, given he is the main target in the next phase of their expansion.
It’ll see ‘a more strategic attempt’ on the way despite the fact spending is set to slow down, given the superstar is seen as an ‘exception’ to that rule given how important he is.
Salah more important than Ronaldo for Saudi
Indeed, the importance of getting Salah to Saudi Arabia is not lost on league officials.
The report states the Liverpool man is ‘viewed as an even more important transfer than Cristiano Ronaldo.’
That’s a massive statement given Ronaldo seemed to break the walls down for European players to go to Saudi Arabia, lighting the path for other big names to follow.
While the ex-Manchester United man ‘provided instant credibility’ for the Saudi Pro League, Salah is an ‘icon through the Arab world’ and is therefore a bigger coup.
It’s somewhat embarrassing for Ronaldo to hear that given the volume of stars in the league might not be anywhere near as high had he not gone there first.
