Former Liverpool forward El Hadji Diouf has advised Mohamed Salah to prolong his stay at Anfield amid interest from Real Madrid.
Mohamed Salah is gearing up for an uncertain summer ahead. The Egyptian wizard is yet to pen a new deal with Liverpool, with his current contract expiring at the end of next season.
Various reports suggest Salah is not happy with the terms Liverpool are offering. The player is holding out for a “double your wage” deal, with Jurgen Klopp admitting in the past that the decision is now up to Salah, whether or not to agree to the offered terms.
Salah’s uncertain situation has put a host of clubs across Europe on alert, with Real Madrid, in particular, keeping an eye on the forward. It appears Los Blancos have identified the former Chelsea starlet as the ideal candidate to reinforce their offensive unit as they look to offload the likes of Eden Hazard and Gareth Bale.
However, speaking to the media this week, El Hadji Diouf believes it won’t be the right move for Salah to join Real Madrid. He urged the Egyptian to remain put in Anfield and continue to flourish under Klopp.
“It’s obvious that Liverpool should accept Salah’s demands. If I were Salah, I’d stay with Liverpool. He might be able to earn more money somewhere else, but he’s already the best player at the club with Mané, and together they will win many more trophies.”
“He’s 30 years old and I am asking him to play another four years with the Reds. A move to Real Madrid would mean starting from zero,” said the former Liverpool man, as quoted by AS.
Diouf, who had made 80 competitive appearances for Liverpool during his time in the Premier League, believes Salah may never earn similar wages to other European stars due to his African heritage.
“Salah has to realise that he is African and he will never be treated like the Europeans players. They will never give him a bigger contract than the others. The same thing happened to me when I was at Liverpool. They told me I couldn’t go back to my country to play with the the national team,” he added.
Liverpool’s reluctance in meeting Salah’s demands has certainly raised an eyebrow or two, especially given the forward’s resounding success at Anfield. However, many experts have urged the Reds to extend the contract of Salah, including former Arsenal head coach Arsene Wenger, who believes the Egyptian is a combination of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
