Mohamed Salah sends crystal clear triple contract message to Liverpool after Man Utd game
Mohamed Salah appeared to send a blunt message to Liverpool's owners on Monday, posting a picture of himself with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk as the trio's contract frustration continues.
The Reds stars are all out of contract at the end of the season and uncertainty reigns over their futures at Anfield, and Salah – who scored in Sunday's 2-2 draw with Manchester United – has ramped up the pressure on owners the Fenway Sports Group with his social media activity.
The Egyptian posted an image on X of him standing over a free kick with Alexander-Arnold in Sunday's game, with Van Dijk standing in the background. Given Salah's recent comments regarding his future at the club, the social media post appears to be a direct dig at Liverpool's owners for failing to agree on new deals with three of the club's greatest-ever players.
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Alexander-Arnold's future, in particular, was in focus on Sunday after it emerged last week that Real Madrid – whose interest in signing him on a free transfer in the summer has long been known – had launched a bid to land the England international right-back for a modest transfer fee this month.
The 26-year-old would go on to produce arguably his poorest performance of the season, with makeshift United wing-back Diogo Dalot and captain Bruno Fernandes combining to cause him a chastening afternoon. Alexander-Arnold was directly at fault for Lisandro Martinez's opener, failing to track the defender's run.
After United equalized through Amad with 10 minutes remaining, Arne Slot moved quickly to replace Alexander-Arnold with Conor Bradley. Fans and pundits alike speculated after the game whether the rampant talk over his future had weighed heavily on his shoulders and affected his performance.
Salah, meanwhile, went on record last week to make clear he is heading towards the Anfield exit unless something changes. He told Sky Sports: "So far, yes. It's the last six months [for me at Liverpool]. There is no progress there. We are far away from any progress. So, we just need to wait and see."
Fan frustration is growing over the issue, which threatens to derail Liverpool's Premier League title challenge. A banner that read "FSG Give Mo & Co their dough" was held aloft on The Kop on Sunday.
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But Van Dijk told Sky Sports on Sunday there has been "nothing" in the way of progress in contract talks. He added: “I don’t think [there will be an update soon], but I am calm about it, like I said months ago.
“We’ll see what happens in the future and at this point I have got absolutely no update. It’s all about at the moment focusing, for me and the team, on Spurs [on Wednesday]. It will be a tough game again, but a good [Carabao Cup] semi-final.”
Despite the unwelcome distractions surrounding three key players, Slot's team restored their lead atop the Premier League table to six points over Arsenal with a game in hand after Sunday's thriller at Anfield.