A year is a long time in football. Rewind 12 months and Jurgen Klopp was looking to steer Liverpool to their second Premier League title in four years. It would ultimately prove an unsuccessful endeavour for the Reds, but one of Klopp’s final actions in charge of Liverpool might have cost the Merseyside outfit a whopping £150million.
As Liverpool pushed to finish top of the league at the backend of last season, one of the side stories to their title challenge was the relationship between Klopp and talisman Mohamed Salah. Tensions boiled over between the two during an away game at West Ham United, when Salah had been dropped from the starting XI, only to be subbed on with 10 minutes to play.
Salah was captured by the television cameras having a pop at his manager, with the Egyptian seen waving his arms during a visibly unhappy outburst. The pair brushed the incident off post-match, insisting it was nothing more than a minor disagreement, however, suggestions about the pair’s relationship had begun to surface.
In the end, as had been announced earlier that season, it was Klopp who departed Liverpool in the summer, but in a different timeline, it could’ve easily been Salah. The winger was subject to intense transfer interest from Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Ittihad, with talk the Middle Eastern club had tabled an astonishing £150m bid the summer prior.
It was reportedly laughed off by the Liverpool hierarchy, who had no interest in letting their main man depart Anfield. Yet, fast forward to the present day and Liverpool could be about to lose the prolific attacker on a free transfer anyway.
With just nine matches of the season left to play, Salah hasn’t put pen to paper on a new contract and the ex-Chelsea star has been blunt about his future when quizzed about it this year. He has hinted on several occasions it could be his final season as a Liverpool player, with the player’s camp and the Liverpool board said to be some way off in terms of their contract valuation.
Granted, Salah’s performances in the Premier League this term are a major reason behind Liverpool being champions-elect - an achievement that will be deemed invaluable for the Reds faithful. But, as far as the balance book goes, Klopp’s exit might’ve cost Liverpool the chance to cash in for a whopping £150m fee.