Huge Liverpool advantage in contract talks revealed after winger equals ridiculous Lionel Messi feat

Liverpool possess a significant advantage in their quest to tie Mohamed Salah down to fresh terms, and the winger matching an incredible feat not achieved since Lionel Messi in the 2014/15 season bodes well for the Reds.

Liverpool are determined to do all they can to agree new contracts with Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah.

The trio are not only among Liverpool’s best players, but are among the finest world football has to offer.

Today’s update regards Salah who despite being aged 32, is putting together perhaps the greatest individual season in Premier League history.

Salah comfortably leads both the goals and assists categories in the Premier League this season with figures of 24 and 15 respectively. In total he’s racked up an incredible 39 goal contributions in just 26 games.

His latest offensive explosion came in the 2-2 draw with Aston Villa on Wednesday night when Salah cancelled out Youri Tielemans’ opener before assisting Alexander-Arnold’s go-ahead goal.

The display saw Salah both score and assist in the same Premier League match for the 10th time this season. And per the Athletic, it is the first time any player in one of Europe’s top five leagues has achieved that feat since Lionel Messi at Barcelona in the 2014/15 campaign.

Messi – who won the Ballon d’Or in 2015 – went on to score and assist in the same league game 12 times that season.

Salah’s tally in that metric this season currently stands at 10 after achieving the feat against Ipswich, Man Utd, Chelsea, Aston Villa, Man City, Newcastle, Tottenham, West Ham, Everton and Aston Villa so far.

And per the Athletic, Salah’s heroics have positioned the Egyptian as frontrunner to win the 2025 Ballon d’Or. While he’ll never admit it in public, the report claims winning the most prestigious individual honour in football is a burning desire for Salah.

Yet to win that award, the suggestion is Salah must STAY at Liverpool. If leaving Anfield, only two exits routes appear open – PSG or Saudi Arabia.

But the Athletic claim it is highly unlikely PSG will match Salah’s wage demands. His base salary is believed to be roughly £350,000-a-week at present. A move to the Saudi Pro League would all but end Salah’s hopes of scooping the Ballon d’Or.

The report stated: ‘Salah has long wanted to be known as the world’s best footballer, although he plays down the significance of individual accolades, mindful of the importance of being a team player.

‘But given Messi ended 2015 as a five-time winner of the Ballon d’Or, Salah is surely now the leading contender to receive the same award, albeit for the first time.

‘The bookmakers certainly believe so: he is the current favourite, ahead of Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior, from Real Madrid, and Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal and Raphinha, although there is time for those odds to shift.’

Mo Salah can make history if re-signing with Liverpool

Players can still win the Ballon d’Or if playing outside of Europe and in Saudi Arabia, for example.

However, the much weaker level of competition in that league and the fact Saudi-based players cannot win the UEFA Champions League makes it is near-impossible for SPL stars to win the award.

The report summed up the situation by stating: ‘Salah tends not to see things through religious, regional or national lines but he was aware that an opportunity to write a new version of history had been missed [when finishing fifth behind Karim Benzema in the voting in 2022].

‘Nevertheless, Benzema was born in Lyon and represented France. If Salah were to win the Ballon d’Or this year, he would be the first Arab footballer from Africa or the Middle East to do so — as well as the first African since George Weah in 1995.

‘Salah said in December that the only thing on his mind was winning the Premier League title for Liverpool. Yet he knows where that, and especially the Champions League, might lead for himself.

‘He followed up that comment by admitting he sees himself as “the best”. If that transpires officially, you can only imagine how Egypt would react, a country which has always seen itself as significant on the global stage but has never been able to prove it through its national sport.

‘Yet Benzema also offers a cautionary tale. The striker slipped from first to 16th in the Ballon d’Or rankings between 2022 and 2023, the year he joined Al Ittihad in the Saudi Pro League.

‘Cristiano Ronaldo, a five-time winner of the award, fell from 20th in his last season at Manchester United to out of the top 30 as soon as he signed for another Saudi club, Al Nassr.’

CaughtOffside recently claimed Salah is desperate to re-sign with Liverpool and as such, had tasked his agent, Ramy Abbas Issa, with accelerating talks with the Reds.

Negotiations are said to have ‘intensified’ in recent days and there is a willingness from all sides to get a deal done.

But until such time as Liverpool put forward terms that Salah and his camp deem adequate, his future will remain undecided.

The Athletic concluded by pointing to Messi’s departure from Barcelona as another cautionary tale for Salah.

‘Salah is in an unusual situation, and maybe there is another Messi parallel which is worth bearing in mind,’ they continued.

‘In 2021, Messi’s departure from Barcelona — the club where he had spent his entire career — satisfied nobody.

‘Barca were unable to offer him a new contract due to financial constraints, even though they also knew that losing him would be a grievous blow; while the player himself has not quite been the same since at club level (he has continued to thrive with Argentina).

‘Salah and Liverpool are in a similar position: neither want to break a partnership which allows both to flourish. The question is: how do they afford to preserve it?’

POLL: If you’re Mo Salah what would you choose? ⬇️

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