Mohamed Saleh believes his “strange” contract negotiations with Liverpool were a catalyst for a season in which he fired the Reds to a historic Premier League title.
Salah’s blistering form in the first half of the season came amid suggestions he could leave Liverpool with the club seemingly making little progress in negotiations with their talisman.
But Salah and the Reds finally agreed to a new deal on April 11 to ensure he will remain at Anfield for at least two more seasons, and he was on target just over two weeks later as Liverpool clinched a record-tying 20th English top-flight title with a 5-1 victory over Tottenham.
With 28 goals and 18 assists in the league this season, Salah has 46 goal involvements to his name, one shy of the all-time Premier League record jointly owned by Andy Cole (1993-94) and Alan Shearer (1994-45). The Egypt international was this week named Player of the Year by the Football Writers’ Association.
Mohamed Salah won the Footballer of the Year award with over 90pc of the vote from our 900-plus members. He joins Thierry Henry as the only man to have won this award 3 times, having done so in 2018 and 2022. Well done @MoSalah 🥇🥇🥇 #FOTY https://t.co/hAoI51W9tH pic.twitter.com/P50DyVAuxc
— The Football Writers' Association (@theofficialfwa) May 9, 2025
And Salah revealed the thought he might leave the club at the end of the season helped fuel his outstanding season.
In an interview with France Football, Salah said: “It [leaving] was a possibility, yes. It was actually a bit strange, we were really going strong this season, and there was this negotiation that wasn’t easy.
“In the end, all’s well that ends well: we’re champions and I’m staying for two more seasons.
“I guess it was ultimately a huge advantage because I had the best statistical season of my life. The possibility that it would be my last season here, perhaps, gave me the desire to make the most of it and give everything I had to win the title I had promised.
“I had this mindset: if the club doesn’t want to extend my contract, no worries, let’s finish as well as possible so I can leave with a bang.”
Salah had made winning the Premier League for a second time a priority, Liverpool having been unable to celebrate with fans after doing so in 2019-20 because of the coronavirus pandemic that paused the season before it was resumed without supporters.
“I even said it was my main goal,” he added. “This is the first time in my career that I have placed the championship above the Champions League.
“It was such a heartbreak not to be able to celebrate with our fans in 2020, due to the pandemic, that I absolutely wanted, along with the whole team, to offer this to our fans and the city. Nine months later, promise kept.”
