Before there were any handshakes over personal terms, performance-based bonuses or lengths of contract, the most important agreement between Liverpool and Mohamed Salah centred firmly around events on the pitch.
If Salah was to remain at Liverpool for the next three years as the highest-paid player at Anfield, there was one non-negotiable that had to be reached above all else.
For Salah himself, the belief that he could maintain the extraordinary levels of the last five years well into his 30s was and is unshakeable. In the modern game, top players are performing for longer and few are as dedicated to their craft as the recently-turned 30-year-old.
