Mohamed Salah: Liverpool icon grants 'initial approval' for money

Legendary Liverpool star Mohamed Salah has given the green light on a move to Saudi Arabia, though any transfer is subject to a hat-trick of big demands being fulfilled, and with the player’s best mate in football, Dejan Lovren, beginning a war of words with Jamie Carragher over the Egyptian’s Anfield exit.

It was announced some weeks ago that the iconic Egyptian would be leaving Anfield this summer, one year before his £400,000-per-week contract was due to expire, following a difficult season on and off the pitch for Salah.

Having had to come to terms with the tragic passing of teammate Diogo Jota, Liverpool as a collective put in a woeful season that saw them barely finish fifth and with results and performances ultimately costing Arne Slot his job.

Salah’s ongoing disagreements with Slot were seemingly a big factor in the Egyptian’s departure, and Lovren has since revealed that, had the Dutchman been sacked earlier, the 33-year-old would not have decided to quit Anfield this summer.

All the same, both the player and the club have now closed the chapter on his nine-year spell on Merseyside and the focus has now shifted to which side Salah signs for next.

As TEAMtalk has revealed for several months and again, in the initial wake of his Anfield exit confirmation, the player has been – and very much remains – a huge target for several clubs in the Saudi Pro League.

Now, according to strong reports in Saudi publication Marebpress, Salah has ‘granted approval’ to move to the Middle East, though any move is still subject to three conditions.

The report claims that Salah has already received an offer to join one of the Saudi league clubs, but the financial compensation offered was less than the offer he had previously received before renewing his contract with Liverpool FC.’

Indeed, TEAMtalk has previously revealed that any deal to take Salah to Saudi Arabia will likely see him handed not just one of the largest sporting contracts in history, but also an ambassadorial role to help promote football in the country.

The report added: ‘Salah stipulated receiving an annual salary and financial benefits commensurate with his status and marketing value, in addition to signing a contract that extends for two or three seasons to ensure stability in the next stage of his career.

‘The Egyptian star also set a third condition, which is to move to a club that has a sporting project capable of competing for major titles and championships, and not just participating.’

READ MORE: Salah’s best friend makes astonishing ‘100%’ Liverpool stay claim as teenager says YES to £120m move

Mohamed Salah: Angry Lovren claims over Liverpool exit

While Salah has no way back at Anfield, his departure this summer continues to divide opinion, and there remain plenty of supporters who would have liked the Egyptian to fulfil his contract through to 2027 at Anfield.

However, while Liverpool are making plans at signing his replacement – and Yan Diomande remains their locked-in, number one target, the fall-out from Salah’s departure is seemingly not yet done.

Now Salah’s best friend in football, former Reds star Lovren, has hit out at Jamie Carragher for his criticism of the Egyptian superstar.

Lovren told Winwin: “The way they treated him this season is not harsh. It’s disgusting. Why didn’t they talk about him like this for the past eight or nine years? Tell me… OK, one season, and then he’s the target again. There are so many other issues.

“He’s being really heavily criticised. Some pundits do it just to attract attention, maybe because they haven’t succeeded in other areas of their lives, so now they need to perform well… especially Carragher, he says whatever he wants. I always said he should tell him this to his face, say all these things to Mo to his face.

“He’ll never say that. Because I know he never will, because he never said it to me. He’s talked badly about me too, but he never said that to me anyway. You know, he’s just performing on TV and he gets paid for it, so he needs to perform this way.”

Lovren added: “I don’t think it’s the management (that pushed Salah to leave). I think it’s just one person, and I think it’s just the manager. They didn’t have a good relationship. Let’s put it simply. With Klopp, he had a really good relationship.

“It wasn’t always perfect, but they knew each other very well, let’s say that too, and they trusted each other, they liked each other, and Mo gave everything on the pitch for Klopp, and Klopp gave him that trust. But (with Slot) it was the opposite. It’s that simple, and everyone knows it because when you look at the previous eight or nine seasons, he did really well.”

Lovren also thinks Salah needed more backing from his teammates, adding: “There are other players who should also take responsibility and say, ‘yes, this is my fault’, but you know, some players never came forward.

“There was mismanagement; internally, they didn’t handle it well. They didn’t handle it well. Even if you have some problems, you have to talk about it in the dressing room, and like I said, Mo never felt that support. He was always the front-page headline, ‘Ah, it’s Mohamed Salah, don’t be surprised.’ I mean… it’s a deep-seated issue.”

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