Liverpool star Mohamed Salah has been linked to Real Madrid and according to reports, the Spanish giants believe they can land the winger in the summer for £126million (€150m). Salah is contracted with Liverpool until 2023 and the Premier League side will be reluctant to sell their starman.
Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane is looking to rebuild his team ahead of next summer and the club is ready to offload Gareth Bale so as to recoup a significant amount to buy one of Europe’s top forwards. Los Blancos will hope that clubs will come for the Welshman after a move to China fell through last year.
Bale’s huge wages will make his transfer to clubs like Manchester United and Tottenham difficult unless he takes a substantial pay cut. The winger has also been hampered by various injuries this season which has seen him being frozen out of the first-team.
According to El Desmarque, Madrid chiefs are interested in bringing Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe to Santiago Bernabeu but may settle for Salah, who is said to be a cheaper alternative. Mbappe is said to cost around €300m (£250m) in the summer window and this has put Madrid off.
The report added that Madrid president Florentino Perez would find a way to sign the Liverpool forward for £126m at the end of the season after he was influential in Liverpool winning the Champions League last year. Since moving to Anfield in 2017, the 27-year-old has netted an astonishing 90 goals in 140 games.
Meanwhile, Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville had earlier suggested that the Egyptian was using Liverpool as a stepping stone to secure a move to Real Madrid and Barcelona.
“I said 18 months ago I thought Mo Salah would leave Liverpool,” he said.
“I think it’s a little bit more simple in the sense of why Liverpool fans maybe don’t demonstrate that love for Salah, and it’s affinity and loyalty.
“I think there’s a feeling that he wants to go and play at Real Madrid, he’ll go to Barcelona – he’ll take the big move.
“That’s not a criticism of Mo Salah. I played with David Beckham, I played with Ruud van Nistelrooy, I played with Cristiano Ronaldo – they wanted to aspire to win the Ballon d’Or, they wanted to be at Real Madrid, they wanted to be up in lights and play at the biggest clubs in the world.
“I think there’s a feeling: affinity, loyalty, will he leave us? I think he could.
“I think he is ultimately using Liverpool potentially as a stepping stone for his career. He has aspirations to be [at a club like Madrid or Barca].
“Let’s be honest, Real Madrid and Barcelona for a lot of players are the pinnacle.”
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