Barcelona want to make Mohamed Salah their key summer signing after clinching a multi-million sponsorship deal with music platform Spotify.
The Spanish giants appear to have solved their financial crisis which saw them having to offload talisman Lionel Messi thanks to a £236 million naming rights contract for their stadium, which from next season will be known as the Spotify Camp Nou. That has given them the mandate to once again attempt to attract some of Europe’s top players with Salah heading the list.
Salah has told Liverpool he wants to stay with talks over a new contract ongoing, but it won’t stop Barcelona attempting to throw a spanner in the works by submitting a bid which could tempt both the player and the club. The Egyptian king of the Kop only has 14 months of his current deal left, with Liverpool’s owners unlikely to allow the 29-year-old to run it down and leave for nothing.
Salah has been made aware of Barcelona’s interest which has meant he hasn’t yet put pen to paper on a new contract worth in excess of £400,000 a week. There is still belief that he will finally end all the speculation which is hovering over Liverpool’s quadruple ambitions by agreeing to stay on Merseyside where he admits he is happy and is adored.
Barcelona, desperate to renew their title rivalry with Real Madrid in LaLiga and once again become a European force, have earmarked the sponsorship windfall for six new players – a to do list which has Salah slap bang on top of it.
Barca have turned around what was fast turning into a nightmare season, with former midfield legend Xavi taking over as coach following Ronald Koeman's sacking last October. The Blaugrana made some major moves in January, signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Arsenal on a free transfer along with Man City's Ferran Torres (£40m), club icon Dani Alves back on a free transfer, and Adama Traore - another former Barca player - on loan from Wolves.
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One Barcelona player whose future looks uncertain this summer is Frenkie de Jong, with the Dutch midfielder recently linked with a move to Manchester United to link up with incoming manager Erik ten Hag after playing under his compatriot at Ajax.
However, Xavi hopes De Jong will remain at Barcelona for the foreseeable future, saying: "He is playing at a very good level and has to continue here – he can be one of the best midfielders in the world for years to come. If it were up to me, I would continue here for many more years. He is very important and can mark an era here. He has to score, assist and he has to be the protagonist."
