Have they ever really cared about the message?
The Mo Contract Saga
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No, probably not
Robbie Fowler questions Liverpool's desire to pay Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane's wages
[article]If there’s one thing I’ve learned during my career as a player and manager, it’s that there is no sentiment in football.
It’s a ruthless business… which is why there is no guarantee Mo Salah and Sadio Mane will get the money many people think they deserve to sign new Liverpool contracts.
As supporters, we all want them to sign, we all want the money found to keep them.
I’m a fan of both, and I would love to see them both stay.
But I know there needs to be a bit of realism in there too.
Liverpool have a business model, and they have been pretty strong over the years at sticking to it.
So Emre Can left on a free, Gini Wijnaldum left on a free.
And you can only assume it is because they were asking for things that didn’t fit into that business model.
Can the owners afford to give two players – or even three, if you include Roberto Firmino – exactly what they want and still keep their wage structure?
I’m not so sure.
If they could it would surely have happened by now. I can understand the position of both players, I really can. I won’t compare my situation during my time at Liverpool to theirs.
But I did feel undervalued by the club when I left to join Leeds and, to me, that was a situation where I was effectively forced out.
They will both probably be feeling the same right now, though for different reasons.
I didn’t feel wanted by the manager and his coaching staff, didn’t play enough for my liking and didn’t get the respect I felt my record deserved.
In a way, that’s the same with Salah and Mane.
The pair have been right at the summit of the world game now for some years, and Salah has even taken his form to a different level this season.
They will feel they deserve to be paid the same as other players at that level – and they’re right.
Mine wasn’t about money. I just didn’t play enough… didn’t feel wanted enough.
But there’s another similarity. Liverpool paid nothing for me, and in the first three years as a first-team player – when I scored 30 goals in each of those seasons – I was on peanuts.
In modern terms, the current board now have, in Salah and Mane, a Messi and Ronaldo on their hands. That’s barely an exaggeration. They are up there on that level.
Yet they didn’t pay Ronaldo-level transfer fees.
Mane went to Liverpool in the same summer of 2016, and for the same fee, that landed Michy Batshuayi for Chelsea.
In the summer of 2017, Salah cost £11m LESS than Everton paid out for Gylfi Sigurdsson.
So they got a Messi and Ronaldo for Batshuayi and Sigurdsson money – with a few million left over.
You could argue it is the coaching and management of Jurgen Klopp that turned them into world-class players, and I’d agree. I heard Jamie Carragher describe Salah as a club legend, and I’d agree with that too.
I’m not comparing myself here at all, but I was also called a legend in my time.
And you know what, I’d have loved the chance to have gone on and cemented that.
Salah clearly thinks the same, but he’s already said he wants to “feel appreciated” by the club for what he has done.
Don’t forget, he did it without the level of wages players of his standard are getting.
And there’s the other side to the coin.
Who will pay him those wages if Liverpool don’t?
The market is not there at all, with the Spanish and Italian clubs struggling.
It leaves either PSG or clubs in England.
Kylian Mbappe and also Erling Haaland could be on the market in June too, so that reduces the options further. As I said, there is no sentiment, just hard economics.
Liverpool will have figures to stick at, just as they did with Wijnaldum and Can.
What I would say though, is how do they replace Salah or Mane?
They have a couple of really promising young kids, but there are no guarantees, and even if they do come through, it won’t be this summer, when a decision will need to be made on the big contracts.
Mbappe would seem an ideal replacement, but his wages will be even higher on a free.
And it seems the only club who can afford him are PSG, so he may end up staying… which rules them out as an option for the Reds pair.
Liverpool will have to replace Salah and Mane one day. But they must get time to plan for that.
It means somehow finding a way to keep them beyond 2023.
[/article]
[article]If there’s one thing I’ve learned during my career as a player and manager, it’s that there is no sentiment in football.
It’s a ruthless business… which is why there is no guarantee Mo Salah and Sadio Mane will get the money many people think they deserve to sign new Liverpool contracts.
As supporters, we all want them to sign, we all want the money found to keep them.
I’m a fan of both, and I would love to see them both stay.
But I know there needs to be a bit of realism in there too.
Liverpool have a business model, and they have been pretty strong over the years at sticking to it.
So Emre Can left on a free, Gini Wijnaldum left on a free.
And you can only assume it is because they were asking for things that didn’t fit into that business model.
Can the owners afford to give two players – or even three, if you include Roberto Firmino – exactly what they want and still keep their wage structure?
I’m not so sure.
If they could it would surely have happened by now. I can understand the position of both players, I really can. I won’t compare my situation during my time at Liverpool to theirs.
But I did feel undervalued by the club when I left to join Leeds and, to me, that was a situation where I was effectively forced out.
They will both probably be feeling the same right now, though for different reasons.
I didn’t feel wanted by the manager and his coaching staff, didn’t play enough for my liking and didn’t get the respect I felt my record deserved.
In a way, that’s the same with Salah and Mane.
The pair have been right at the summit of the world game now for some years, and Salah has even taken his form to a different level this season.
They will feel they deserve to be paid the same as other players at that level – and they’re right.
Mine wasn’t about money. I just didn’t play enough… didn’t feel wanted enough.
But there’s another similarity. Liverpool paid nothing for me, and in the first three years as a first-team player – when I scored 30 goals in each of those seasons – I was on peanuts.
In modern terms, the current board now have, in Salah and Mane, a Messi and Ronaldo on their hands. That’s barely an exaggeration. They are up there on that level.
Yet they didn’t pay Ronaldo-level transfer fees.
Mane went to Liverpool in the same summer of 2016, and for the same fee, that landed Michy Batshuayi for Chelsea.
In the summer of 2017, Salah cost £11m LESS than Everton paid out for Gylfi Sigurdsson.
So they got a Messi and Ronaldo for Batshuayi and Sigurdsson money – with a few million left over.
You could argue it is the coaching and management of Jurgen Klopp that turned them into world-class players, and I’d agree. I heard Jamie Carragher describe Salah as a club legend, and I’d agree with that too.
I’m not comparing myself here at all, but I was also called a legend in my time.
And you know what, I’d have loved the chance to have gone on and cemented that.
Salah clearly thinks the same, but he’s already said he wants to “feel appreciated” by the club for what he has done.
Don’t forget, he did it without the level of wages players of his standard are getting.
And there’s the other side to the coin.
Who will pay him those wages if Liverpool don’t?
The market is not there at all, with the Spanish and Italian clubs struggling.
It leaves either PSG or clubs in England.
Kylian Mbappe and also Erling Haaland could be on the market in June too, so that reduces the options further. As I said, there is no sentiment, just hard economics.
Liverpool will have figures to stick at, just as they did with Wijnaldum and Can.
What I would say though, is how do they replace Salah or Mane?
They have a couple of really promising young kids, but there are no guarantees, and even if they do come through, it won’t be this summer, when a decision will need to be made on the big contracts.
Mbappe would seem an ideal replacement, but his wages will be even higher on a free.
And it seems the only club who can afford him are PSG, so he may end up staying… which rules them out as an option for the Reds pair.
Liverpool will have to replace Salah and Mane one day. But they must get time to plan for that.
It means somehow finding a way to keep them beyond 2023.
[/article]
They have back tracked previously and reversed decisions based on fan’s opinion on numerous occassions.
I think the Salah situation is building on the fan side and won’t be seen in same light as Can and Gini so will be interesting to see how it plays out.
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Has Robbie seen Mane play recently?
Do we really have a couple of promising young kids though? I just don't see it.
Besides Harvey, the rest of them won't be wanted by any other premiership clubs at the moment, even on loan.
Gordon, Morton, Jones... further down the pecking order Musialowski, Balagizi, Bajcetic, Stewart, Blair... more probably. We've got promising young players.
I think it's odd that Musialowski continues to be overlooked for the cup games..
Robbie Fowler: I was paid peanuts
Robin Fowler’s book: When I signed that contract I was told “Robbie, you’re the first teenage millionaire footballer”
Robin Fowler’s book: When I signed that contract I was told “Robbie, you’re the first teenage millionaire footballer”
From an advertising point of view, absolutely. We're infinitely more marketable with Salah than without. He's on the same level a klopp for us
I dunno, fans want this, the player wants this, so why aren't they doing more to get it done?
So based on their past record, they will probably sell Salah for £50M, the fans will stage a walkout in protest, they'll see the error of their ways and buy him back for £150M with double the wages he is asking for now.
Hmmm…
I doubt they will sell him for 50m, more likely they will plan to sell for 100m in the summer and it will get leaked prior to sale, followed by mass fans protest then Club admin will offer him a 10yr contract extension. Just maybe…
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Lewandowksi is better according to the FIFA results. He’s on €15 million a year. So what’s Salah’s real worth?
Are you sure?
Read he’s on 350k /£18m per year and aged 33. But his contract is due to expire at same time as Salah.
I’ve seen €15m quoted and £17m.
He was sick prior to the Shrewsbury game. That was why he wasnt in the squad.
And the time before that? And the time before that?
The 17 captains who voted for Mo Salah as world’s best.
Brunei Darussalam – Azwan Ali Rahman
Ghana – Andre Ayew
Guyana – Matthew Briggs
Jordan – Mutaz Yassin
Lithuania – Ernestas Setkus
Netherlands – Virgil van Dijk
Palestine – Abdelatif Albahdari
Peru – Paolo Guerrero
Qatar – Hassan Alhaydo
Scotland – Andy Robertson
Switzerland – Granit Xhaka
Syria – Omar Alsomah
Togo – Dakonam Ortega Djene
Tunisia – Youssef Msakni
UAE – Ismaeil Matar
Yemen – Sadeq Ahmed
Zimbabwe – Knowledge Musona
https://www.thisisanfield.com/2022/...alah-as-worlds-best-including-liverpool-pair/
Brunei Darussalam – Azwan Ali Rahman
Ghana – Andre Ayew
Guyana – Matthew Briggs
Jordan – Mutaz Yassin
Lithuania – Ernestas Setkus
Netherlands – Virgil van Dijk
Palestine – Abdelatif Albahdari
Peru – Paolo Guerrero
Qatar – Hassan Alhaydo
Scotland – Andy Robertson
Switzerland – Granit Xhaka
Syria – Omar Alsomah
Togo – Dakonam Ortega Djene
Tunisia – Youssef Msakni
UAE – Ismaeil Matar
Yemen – Sadeq Ahmed
Zimbabwe – Knowledge Musona
https://www.thisisanfield.com/2022/...alah-as-worlds-best-including-liverpool-pair/
Mostly African / Arab captains plus Van Dijk and Robertson. I think Dejan Lovren had a point.
I was thinking the same - but what did Lovren say?
If only there were such a thing, some kind of ubiquitous invention whereby we could quickly type in "Dejan Lovren" and within a matter of seconds see what he said. Alas.
But here you go anyway on his Twitter account:
No place for @MoSalah to be placed in the Fifapro world11?? Again!! People with knowledge about football they know that he deserves to be in there. What needs to be done to be there? Maybe a European passport.
But here you go anyway on his Twitter account:
No place for @MoSalah to be placed in the Fifapro world11?? Again!! People with knowledge about football they know that he deserves to be in there. What needs to be done to be there? Maybe a European passport.
I couldn't be arsed - but grateful you could 😉
Let me guess - the England captain voted for Harry KaneThe 17 captains who voted for Mo Salah as world’s best.
Brunei Darussalam – Azwan Ali Rahman
Ghana – Andre Ayew
Guyana – Matthew Briggs
Jordan – Mutaz Yassin
Lithuania – Ernestas Setkus
Netherlands – Virgil van Dijk
Palestine – Abdelatif Albahdari
Peru – Paolo Guerrero
Qatar – Hassan Alhaydo
Scotland – Andy Robertson
Switzerland – Granit Xhaka
Syria – Omar Alsomah
Togo – Dakonam Ortega Djene
Tunisia – Youssef Msakni
UAE – Ismaeil Matar
Yemen – Sadeq Ahmed
Zimbabwe – Knowledge Musona
https://www.thisisanfield.com/2022/...alah-as-worlds-best-including-liverpool-pair/
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