Now the dust has settled on Sadio Mane’s exit from Liverpool and Darwin Nunez’s arrival, thoughts turn to what it means for the club’s protracted contract talks with Mohamed Salah.
There is a clear message to be drawn from Liverpool’s handling of Mane’s contract demands for Salah and his talks over a new deal. Like Salah, Mane had a year left on his Anfield deal and reportedly wanted close to £400,000–a-week to sign fresh terms. His argument was that as one of the Premier League ’s best players, he should be paid the same as his peers like Kevin De Bruyne and Cristiano Ronaldo. But his case ignored Liverpool’s carefully-managed wage structure and the club’s top earner is Virgil van Dijk on around £220,000-a-week.
