As Liverpool supporters anxiously wait to hear if their most-prized stars will extend their contracts at Anfield, Manchester United fans have no such fears. Not put off by the Red Devils’ recent failings, Bruno Fernandes committed his future to the club until 2026, with the option of a further year, when signing fresh terms last week.
The Portuguese’s new contract is only for an additional year compared to his initial deal when signing from Sporting Lisbon. However, rewarded for his performances since moving to Old Trafford in January 2020, his new deal will see him reportedly double his wage at the club.
According to The Athletic , the 27-year-old will now pocket around £240k a week and will stand as one of United’s highest earners behind Cristiano Ronaldo (£480k a week) and David De Gea (£375k a week). Meanwhile, they claim Paul Pogba, Raphael Varane, Jadon Sancho, Edinson Cavani and Marcus Rashford are all believed to receive £200k a week or more, with Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw also close to that figure.
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Liverpool won’t be concerned by Manchester United’s reported wage bill. They pay substantially less than the Red Devils across the board but have been a far superior side for the majority of Jurgen Klopp’s Anfield reign.
Yet Fernandes’ reported new wage could have a knock-on effect on Merseyside as Reds bosses continue to negotiate with Mohamed Salah. For his first 18 months at Old Trafford, the Portuguese playmaker was one of the standout performers in the Premier League.
Boasting 18 goals last season, only Harry Kane and Salah managed to score more while only the England captain bettered his total of 12 assists. And while his form might have dipped this season in comparison, he’s still returned nine goals and 14 assists in all competitions.
However, such numbers pale in comparison to Salah who, despite not being at his best in recent weeks, has been the best player in the world this season and boasts 28 goals and 10 assists. Yet Fernandes is now reportedly paid more than Liverpool’s Egyptian King.
The 29-year-old is the Reds’ second-highest earner according to Spotrac , behind Virgil van Dijk, with his weekly wage said to be £200k a week. Liverpool are willing to make him the best-paid player in the club’s history to stay at the club, with his contract set to expire in 2023.
Speaking to GQ magazine in January, the Egyptian did insist he wanted to stay at Anfield when hinting at his contract demands. “I want to stay, but it's not in my hands. It's in their hands,” the forward said. “They know what I want. I'm not asking for crazy stuff.”
Define crazy. With contrasting figures reported from £300k a week to in excess of £400k a week, it’s obviously unclear just how much the Reds have offered Salah and what his contract demands actually are.
But a wage on par with Fernandes’ reported new terms would equate to the highest in Liverpool’s history yet not be befitting of the best player in the world. Rather, you’d imagine a figure closer to Ronaldo’s own wages be more suitable, with Salah’s performances from over the past five seasons seeing him rewarded by becoming one of the best players in the world.
Either way, this latest new contract handed out at Old Trafford will strengthen the Egyptian’s reasoning when it comes to his own demands and justify his argument for expecting more. After all, if a player he is consistently out-performing is on £240k a week at a lesser-performing club, he has every right to expect to be offered comfortably more.
It remains to be seen if Liverpool and Salah will find a compromise over new terms or if his Reds career is slowly drawing to a close. But with the forward free to discuss pre-contract agreements with overseas clubs from January, it is set to be a decisive few months regarding his future. After all, if new terms can’t be agreed, the club must decide whether they cash in this summer or let him leave at the end of his deal on a Bosman in 2023.
But as Salah’s own representation no doubt sniff around to see the going-rate elsewhere, such as Fernandes’ new contract, when deciding their own demands, the Liverpool man’s future could be being watched rather closely by one team-mate in particular.
The Egyptian is not the only player out of contract at Anfield next summer, with Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s own deals also expiring in 2023. While Klopp has publicly said he wants the Guinean to say, official word on the remaining trio has been lacking.
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However, Mane’s agent offered an update of his own last month when discussing his client’s future. While Liverpool have been locked in negotiations with Salah, that has not been the case with regards to the Senegalese.
"We talk a lot with Liverpool but currently we are not talking about a contract extension,” Bjorn Bezemer told TFM Senegal . “We are waiting for the end of the season."
It would be easy to dismiss such a stance as the Reds not prioritising Mane’s future while locked in negotiations with Salah. But the Senegalese could be a major winner from such a waiting game at Anfield.
With his last contract extension being penned in November 2018, before even winning the Champions League, if the forward, who celebrates his 30th birthday on Sunday, is handed a new deal with Liverpool, he can expect a comfortable rise of his own. And having seen Fernandes’ new deal agreed with United, it will give his representation a better feel of the current going-rate.
But Salah’s own negotiations could have a positive knock-on effect for Mane, regardless of whichever way they unfold. If the forward finds a compromise with the Reds, the Senegalese can set his own demands accordingly or benefit by moving on to a rival elite club who had originally wanted to lure away Liverpool’s Egyptian King.
Yet if Salah departs, the Reds will be keen to keep Mane that little bit more, with him able to set his own demands accordingly anyway, knowing the stage is set for him to be Liverpool’s new poster boy.
The longer Salah’s contract negotiations go on, the more uncertain his Reds future gets. But for Mane, it’s a case of no news is good news as he continues to wait in the wings in a position of strength before the time comes for him to decide his own next move.
