LIVERPOOL: Mohamed Salah ended months of speculation over his future by signing a new two-year contract with Premier League leaders Liverpool on Friday.
Salah, 32, has scored 243 goals in 394 appearances for the Reds since joining from Roma in 2017, making him the club’s third highest goalscorer of all time.
His form has been instrumental to Liverpool’s charge towards a record-equalling 20th English top-flight title this season.
“Of course I’m very excited. We have a great team now. Before also we had a great team. But I signed because I think we have a chance to win other trophies,“ Salah said in a club statement.
“It’s great, I had my best years here. I played eight years, hopefully it’s going to be 10.”
Salah has netted 27 goals and provided 17 assists in the Premier League as Liverpool have amassed an 11-point lead with just seven games remaining in Arne Slot’s first season as manager.
“He has shown at this club for so many years in a row how much of a value he is for the club and the team,“ said Slot. “As like all our fans and his team-mates, we are very happy that he has extended for two more years.
“Hopefully, he can show on Sunday again (against West Ham) how important he has been for us all season.”
Salah helped fire Liverpool to Champions League glory in 2019 and a first league title for 30 years in the 2019/20 season.
He has also won the FA Cup, two League Cups, Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup during his time at Anfield to go down as one of the best players in the Premier League era.
Saudi interest
Twice he has been crowned player of the year by his fellow professionals and football writers and is almost certain to pick up both prizes for a third time this year.
Salah’s signing comes as a timely boost during both his and Liverpool’s most difficult spell of the season.
Slot’s men have lost three of their last four games in all competitions to bow out of the Champions League to Paris Saint-Germain, lose the League Cup final to Newcastle and have their 26-game unbeaten run in the Premier League come to an end at Fulham.
Salah has failed to score in six of his last seven games at club level with his only goals in that run coming against already-relegated Southampton from the penalty spot.
Liverpool’s charge to the top of the Premier League table has come despite the distraction over contract negotiations for three of their star players all season.
Captain Virgil van Dijk and right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold are also out of contract at the end of the campaign.
Van Dijk has said there “has been progress” on extending his deal, but Alexander-Arnold is reportedly close to joining Real Madrid on a free transfer.
Salah had stoked the speculation in a series of post-match interviews where he expressed his frustration at the speed of negotiations and previously said he was “probably more out than in”.
However, he has committed his future to the club despite rumours he had been offered a lucrative move to the Saudi Pro League.
Another two more years on Merseyside offers Salah the opportunity to further write his name into the record books.
He currently stands joint-fifth in the all-time standings for Premier League goals on 184 and 103 behind Ian Rush’s record 346 for Liverpool.
