Mo Salah’s recent comments about his departure had a hidden message for Liverpool directors

Mo Salah scored for the seventh straight game against Manchester United on Sunday.

After assisting Luis Diaz twice and scoring one himself, the Egyptian forward produced another impressive performance at Old Trafford.

But despite the Reds’ stunning 3-0 victory over their arch-rivals, it was Salah’s post-match comments that made headlines.

The what…

The 32-year-old told Sky Sports after the match: “I came to the game and thought, ‘Look, this could be the last time.’”

“Nobody at the club had talked to me about contracts yet, so I thought: ‘Okay, I’ll play my last season and see what happens at the end of the season’.

“I feel like I’m free to play football – we’ll see what happens next year.”

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Fans were understandably shocked by Salah’s comments and the apparent admission that this could be his last away match against Manchester United. However, according to Football Insider, there is a good reason behind the forward’s recent ‘media blitz’.

The why…

Although he will become a free agent at the end of the season and will therefore be eligible for pre-contract talks with clubs outside England from the new year, the Liverpool forward would prefer to stay at Anfield.

His recent comments about this season being his last are therefore part of a “carefully orchestrated strategy to further build his profile and persuade Liverpool to offer him a new contract”.

But even though Salah wants to stay at Liverpool and become perhaps the best player ever, he will not reduce his contract. On a salary of £350,000 a week, he is the club’s highest earner, despite being almost 33 years old.

However, the Egyptian international sees his future in England after failing to make the switch to the Pro League last year after Liverpool rejected a huge £150million bid from Al-Ittihad.

During his seven years on Merseyside, Liverpool’s number 11 has scored 214 goals and provided 92 assists in 352 games in all competitions.