Mohamed Salah has not contemplated leaving Liverpool if they fail to qualify for the Champions League, his agent has declared.
The Egyptian superstar, 30, signed a lucrative contract extension with the Reds last summer to end speculation over his future. Since then, he has registered 19 goals and nine assists in all competitions during a troubled season at Anfield.
Liverpool were expected to compete for silverware after coming so close to winning an unprecedented quadruple last time out, but they have endured a sharp decline which has left fans and pundits scratching their heads. The Reds dropped more points in the race for a top-four finish on Saturday as they were held to a 0-0 draw by Crystal Palace, leaving them nine points behind Tottenham having played two games fewer.
Liverpool may find it difficult to keep their biggest stars if they fail to qualify for Europe's premier club competition. One outlet on the continent claimed this is true in Salah's case, insisting he would be prepared to leave Merseyside after six goal-laden years if the Reds miss out on the Champions League.
But his agent, Ramy Abbas Issa, rubbished this report emphatically on Twitter on Monday morning and insisted Salah is certain Liverpool will finish in the top four. He wrote: "Nonsense. This was never discussed or thought about. Not qualifying to the Champions League hasn't even crossed our minds."
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This update is a welcome one for Jurgen Klopp and Co. during a challenging period which has also involved a chastening 5-2 defeat by Real Madrid. Salah made it clear he would like to stay at Anfield for as long as possible after extending his contract until 2025 last year, and it appears he has not had a change of heart.
That being said, he has a brilliant record in the Champions League and will be devastated if he is not playing in the competition next season. This term, Salah leads the way in the scoring charts with eight goals in seven Champions League appearances - one more than Paris Saint-Germain superstar Kylian Mbappe.
The former Chelsea and Roma winger capitalised on a Thibaut Courtois error to double Liverpool's lead after Darwin Nunez's early opener at Anfield last week. However, Vinicius Junior pulled one back for the visitors and was then gifted a second thanks to a glaring mistake from Alisson.
Real Madrid scored three goals in the second half to secure a famous European victory and a 5-2 aggregate lead ahead of the second last-16 leg on 15 March. The result all but ended the Reds' hopes of silverware, as they were eliminated from the domestic cups midway through the season.
