Salah has kept up his side of the bargain - and then some. For now, he has no idea where he and his family will be living next year. He has no idea if he'll be moving countries or continents. And though he's now regarded as the greatest to pull on a Reds jersey this century, he's also not allowed pride to get in the way of his team's progress. Twelve goals. Ten assists. And in 19 games. It is just typical Mo Salah at this stage in the season.
Yet Jamie Carragher says Salah wasn't just out of order with that mixed zone chat after the win at Southampton, but that both he and Ramy Abbas, his agent, are being "selfish" and undermining the cause.
Though to be fair, Carragher is no Robinson Crusoe with his complaints. There's always been a tension just beneath the surface regarding Salah and his relationship with certain Liverpool identities. We know his rapport with Jurgen Klopp never stretched beyond manager and player. As we know Salah has felt let down at times with the lack of recognition his feats have garnered from those inside and closely connected to the club. Let's put it this way, he's hardly enjoyed the treatment Pep Guardiola receives at Manchester City or Eric Cantona at Manchester United. But that's the level Salah has been consistently reaching for well over seven years... Of course he deserves better.
"If he keeps putting comments out," stated Carragher on Monday, "his agent puts out cryptic messages, that is selfish. That is thinking about themselves and not the football club."
But how? How...? Especially when you consider the way Salah has embraced the new manager and Arne Slot's new system. It's Salah who is a Champions League winner. It's Salah who has rewritten the record books at Anfield. But there's been no push-back from the famed striker regarding Slot's changes. No sign of complaints or frustration. Instead, it's been head down, tail up and 'let's make this work'. Again, it's typical Salah.
"We are almost in December and I haven't received an offer to stay at the club yet," stated Salah at St Mary's after his double earned the points on Sunday, "so I am probably more out than in.
"I have been at the club for many years. There is no club like this but in the end it is not in my hands. As I said before, it is December and I haven't received anything yet about my future.
"I'm not going to retire soon. I'm focusing on the season and I'm trying to win the Premier League and hopefully the Champions League as well. I'm disappointed but we will see."
"Disappointed"? Of course he should feel this way. A player of Salah's status doesn't deserve treatment like this. For everything he's done for Liverpool. For the bloody money he's actually made for the club's owners. The very least FSG can do is not leave him in the dark.
But they have - and Salah, quite rightly, has broken ranks. In just over a month, he and Ramy can begin negotiations with foreign clubs regarding a pre-contract. And they're queuing up. Saudi Arabia is the obvious destination, but PSG, Barcelona and Bayern Munich are all eager to make their pitch. That Moneyball culture may be holding back Liverpool, but at 32, no club across Europe nor the Middle East would view signing Salah as a gamble.
Another player. A different ego. And this would be a mess. The beginning of the Slot era would be a mess. As we've stated in past columns, it almost defies the rules of top-level football how Liverpool have performed so far this season. Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold have all been left hanging by their board. Any one of them, or indeed all three, could've thrown a wobbler. Sulked. And started packing their bags.
Instead, it's been the opposite. And it's come from the players. They've kept their own counsel. They've helped carry Slot and his staff in these first months. And in doing so are surpassing expectations. All achieved with no help from those above.
And Salah has been the key man - yet again - in all this. He hasn't been "selfish". Mohamed Salah has more than kept up his side of the bargain. It's this board and their continued indifference towards a modern day great that is the problem.
For everything he's achieved for the club. For all the money he's generated for it's owners. Mohamed Salah deserves much, much better.
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