Mohamed Salah's private Liverpool ambition could hint at where future really lies

When Mohamed Salah signed his latest Liverpool contract on the Greek island of Mykonos in the summer of 2022, he was sent a message from friend Ian Rush with one not-so-simple instruction. As Salah celebrated the biggest contract of his career with his family and inner circle that included long-time agent Ramy Abbas, Rush got in touch imploring the Reds star: "Now go and see if you can break my record!"

The pair have struck up a closeness over the years on Merseyside and there's a story told by Rush, the all-time leading scorer at Anfield with 346, that highlights just how insatiable and ambitious Salah is. The legendary sharpshooter, it turns out, has been told at regular intervals by the player so affectionately known to supporters as the 'Egyptian King' that his proud Anfield record is in fact under genuine threat.

The claim might have been relaid time and again with Salah's tongue planted firmly in his cheek, but there's always some truth that's said in jest, isn't there? The more goals the No.11 plunders, the more serious Rush might have to start taking his friend's prediction.

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Salah will have to net another 119 as a Liverpool player just to go level with the iconic marksman of his day, but with 16 for the campaign now and with a determination to stay put for the coming years at Anfield, the Reds star is seemingly desperate to chase down Rush as best he can.

"If he does [break my record], I'll be the first to congratulate him," Rush told the ECHO in the summer of 2022, in a chat that took place the day after Salah signed his new deal. "But more importantly the first thing is to become a true Liverpool legend. That means being at the club for seven to 10 years."

Now about to enter his eighth year at Anfield, Salah has passed that line in the sand that apparently places him into 'legendary' category but there is still no real indication as to whether or not he will stay beyond that as his contract impasse drags on.

It's a topic that seemingly everyone has an opinion on. From journalists and pundits to former and current players, Salah's ongoing contract negotiation is, alongside Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold in similar situations, the pertinent issue at Anfield right now.

Not that Salah is letting it show on the pitch, however. The penalty he slotted home in Tuesday's 1-0 win over Girona was his 16th of an increasingly productive campaign and his 50th in the Champions League.

If Salah has pretensions on one day taking over Rush as Liverpool's leading scorer then you will only get short odds on him harbouring a similarly ambitious target of topping the charts in the European Cup. Now up to 50, he finds himself just outside the top 10 alongside Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe, who brought up his half century in Tuesday's 3-2 win at Atalanta.

Thierry Henry (51) and Thomas Muller (currently 54) will be two names who Salah will look to surpass this term and an extension at Anfield will afford him at least another year of trying to chase down vaunted names like Andriy Shevchenko (59), Ruud van Nistelrooy (60) and even the great Raul on 71.

Karim Benzema (90), Robert Lewandowski (101), Lionel Messi (129) and Cristiano Ronaldo (141) may range from unlikely to be surpassed to almost certainly not but Salah - as evidenced by his statements to Rush - won't be placing any limitations on his own output. That's if he is able to continue firing at Liverpool beyond his current contract, of course.

For Liverpool, the latest Salah milestone - and the names of the players he is rubbing shoulders with in the European Cup - is another reminder of the sort of profile they have on their hands right now; their top scorer of the last seven full seasons, who looks as comfortable as he ever has in a more senior and influential role on and off the pitch.

"For Mohamed, my job [as a friend] was to let him know that Liverpool is the best club in the world," Rush said in that ECHO chat over two years ago. "I am a good friend with Ramy and Mo, and I met him many times and I met in Dubai, France, London and Liverpool. I have kept trying to tell Ramy to convince Mo to stay. This is a special club. It's the best club in the world.

"If you want to be a true legend, and we've had so many great players like Luis Suarez, Fernando Torres, Xabi Alonso, Javier Mascherano, but for all these great players, if you want to be a true legend, you have to be at the club for at least seven to 10 years and that is what it's all about."

It's unclear if the former Wales international has felt the need to reinforce that message this time around but while there were lingering doubts around Salah's hopes and his plans up until the signing of that particularly lucrative deal in 2022, the only question now is whether or not the club will bow to the proposals put forward by the player and his team. So far, we are without an answer.

The fact that Salah, as revealed by the ECHO in September, is so desperate to hear what is on the table at his current club before having to field offers from elsewhere as of January 1, however, means that Liverpool have a major boost heading into a critically-important period for negotiations.

Salah might have already reached the "true legend" status is spoken about but there are still more worlds to conquer at Anfield. Just ask Rush.

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