Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah has signed a new long-term contract with Liverpool, the club announced on Monday.
According to reports, the contract will keep the 26-year-old at Anfield for the next five years and does not have a release clause, which would require Liverpool to accept an offer of a pre-determined contractual amount from the buying club.
Salah’s contract renewal comes just over a year after he arrived at Anfield from AS Roma last summer. The Egyptian enjoyed a remarkable debut campaign with Liverpool, in which he scored an incredible 44 goals in just 52 appearances – just three short of Ian Rush’s club record of 47. Salah also won the Premier League’s golden boot award for his 32 goals in English football’s top division.
The 26-year-old scooped Liverpool’s Player of the Year and Players’ Player of the Year last season, along with being named the Premier League’s player of the year. He also became the first player in history to win three Premier League Player of the Month accolades in a season.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said the new deal demonstrates Salah’s “belief in Liverpool and our belief in him”.
“When someone like Mo Salah commits and says this place is my home now, it speaks very loudly I think,” the German said. “Equally, our commitment to him says we see his value and want him to grow even more and get even better within our environment.
He added, “The key thing to remember is the best thing about Mo is that he never sees himself as being more important than the team or anyone else within it. He recognises his teammates and this club helped him achieve individual success last season.
“Mo reflects where we are as a team, I think. Last season was special with many special moments – but we want more. We want to be more successful and achieve more together – as the supporters sang so loudly, ‘We’re never gonna stop’. This has to be the attitude individually and collectively.”
Salah’s heroics even helped Egypt reach the World Cup, although an injury in the Champions League final in May hampered his preparation for the mega event. Egypt eventually crashed out in the first round itself.
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