Last Friday, the news that many Merseyside supporters had been anticipating all season was broadcast on enormous television screens in the foyer of Liverpool’s AXA Training Centre. Star forward Mohamed Salah finally signed a two-year contract extension, ending months of rumors that he would leave the team on a free transfer when his deal expired in the summer. The news gave everyone at the club’s Kirkby training base a noticeable boost as the Premier League season nears its conclusion.
“Has Mo signed a new contract?” As he walked past, watching the continuous broadcast of his teammate’s deal, a laid-back-looking Vigil van Dijk joked. Given that his own future was taking a similar course, it was a lighthearted remark from a player who was well-versed in the realities of being at the center of a drawn-out contract drama.
The 33-year-old captain of Liverpool was still being evasive a week ago, but the club formally acknowledged on Thursday that he has already signed to a new two-year contract. Van Dijk said, “It was always Liverpool,” on the official website of the team. “That was the situation. Liverpool was constantly in the forefront of my mind, along with the plan.
Salah has been as outspoken about his sentiments for the team that has helped him become a worldwide celebrity over the past eight years. At 32, he is in the best shape of his life and recently broke the record for the most goal involvements (45) in a 38-game Premier League season. Additionally, although there has long been a sense of inevitable
Naturally, there is still a great deal of hush around the future of right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold. According to a source who spoke to ESPN, Real Madrid is “very confident” that they will sign him this summer on a free transfer. However, Liverpool is certain that they are set up for future success because Salah and Van Dijk’s contracts are now guaranteed until at least the summer of 2027, and they need just six more points to win the Premier League for the second time since 1990.
