Liverpool urged to make Mohamed Salah transfer decision that would save $40M

 Liverpool has been told that it should try to cash in on Mohamed Salah if possible, in order to save a fortune in wages over the next 18 months.

Salah signed a two-year extension in April, tying him to the club until June 2027, but it is unclear at the moment whether he will ever play for the club again after the incendiary comments he made in the wake of Liverpool's draw with Leeds on Sunday.

Salah is reported to earn around £21 million ($27 million) per year at Liverpool, so with 18 months left to run on the Egyptian's current contract, Liverpool is looking at an outlay slightly in excess of $40 million in wages if Salah were to see out his deal.

Liverpool's former managing director Christian Purslow thinks that it would be good business for the club to try to move Salah on in January and use that money elsewhere.

"Liverpool is a very well-run club that has made many good decisions over the years," Purslow told the BBC. "FSG has overseen a period of great success and cannot tolerate having a player, who when he isn't picked, criticizes his manager. That is intolerable.

"I doubt things will be mended before the Brighton game in the absence of a public apology. I think it will play out that he disappears to AFCON and that buys Liverpool a bit of breathing space.

"There is obviously a feeling that Salah is in the back end of his career. Liverpool decided to try and have a gradual transition, bringing in long-term replacements and giving them time to bed in.

"It was well-intentioned but it hasn't worked, and it hasn't worked for Salah either. He is on a £20m-a-year contract which has 18 months to run.

"It seems clear now that he will be a bit-part player for the rest of the season and he isn't interested in that.

"From Liverpool's perspective, if it can sell him, get a transfer fee, and lose the remaining balance of his contract from the club's finances - because there is probably still £30M to pay him - it is good business.

"The money on offer in Saudi Arabia will be generational wealth for him and his family and he will probably try and strike a deal. I would expect those conversations to kick off quite quickly."