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‘We have a space for him!’ – Salah invites ‘phenomenal’ De Bruyne to join him at Liverpool

Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah has cheekily invited Manchester City midfielder Kevin de Bruyne to join him at Anfield on a free transfer in the summer.

The Belgium international announced last month that he will be leaving the Etihad Stadium at the end of the season after a decade at the Premier League club.

His decision was potentially made easier by Man City’s poor performances this season with Pep Guardiola’s side currently battling to finish in the top five of the Premier League, while they lost in the FA Cup final to Crystal Palace on Saturday.

De Bruyne has achieved it all during his time at Man City with the Belgian winning six Premier League titles, two FA Cups, five League Cups and a Champions League.

His future is still unclear but there were claims that Liverpool had made him an ‘offer’ to betray Man City fans and join their Premier League rivals, who have just won the title.

And now Salah has welcomed the idea of De Bruyne moving from Man City to Liverpool after the 33-year-old’s “phenomenal job” at the Etihad Stadium.

Salah told Sky Sports: “I want to tell him congratulations for your career. He’s done a phenomenal job at City, and he was great for the league. I really wish him the best…and we have a space for him!”

Although Salah admits a deal for De Bruyne seems unlikely with the Liverpool forward pointing to the Reds owners’ “philosophy” that they rarely offer long-term deals to players over 30.

Salah added: “The philosophy of the club, I know how they deal with their players over 30 in the past. I didn’t expect I was going to stay. It’s not something bad. We see how they deal with this situation in the past.

“It took six months for the negotiations to go really quick and from January things are getting better and better. It took us a while. I think the club was testing me to see if I could still provide or not!”

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De Bruyne revealed in April that he had been left “surprised” at the choice of the Man City hierarchy to not offer him a deal all year.

He said: “I didn’t have any offer from them through the whole year and the club made a decision.

“Obviously, I was a bit surprised but I have to accept it. Honestly, I still think I can perform at this level like I’m showing but I understand that clubs have to make decisions. It was half a week till I reported it out and it wasn’t nice. My family weren’t home.

“They were on holiday so it was a bit weird but it is what it is. I don’t feel awkward. I told them that I feel like I still have a lot to give. I know I’m not 25 anymore, but I still feel like I can do my job. I’m open for anything (next) because I have to look at the whole picture.

“I’m looking at sporting reasons, family and everything together and what makes the most sense for me and my family. I still feel like I can play at a good level, but after I’ll have to make a decision once I really know a little bit more.”

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