Why Salah turned down '£500m Saudi move' for Liverpool stay

Salah has signed a two-year contract extension with Liverpool

Mohamed Salah is staying at Liverpool, bringing one of the season's key storylines to a conclusion. At times, though, it seemed in doubt.

So what happened behind the scenes?

Was there a £500m offer from Saudi Arabia and how did the Egypt forward go from being unsure of his future to expressing delight at signing a deal that lasts until he turns 34?

Senior football correspondent Sami Mokbel reports…

Deal breakthrough came at end of March

When Salah set the cat among the pigeons about his future in November by saying he was 'more out than in', he wasn't being disingenuous.

Yet it was also not misleading to say the Egyptian always wanted to stay at Liverpool. The two stances weren't necessarily mutually exclusive.

It has always been Salah's ambition to extend his eight-year stay at Anfield – and news today of his new two-year contract will bring the 32-year-old's tenure at the club to a decade, should he see out the duration of the terms.

But the conditions – for both Salah and Liverpool – had to be right. Thankfully for the club's supporters a middle ground was finally reached.

Sources close to the situation indicated a breakthrough in talks between Salah, his representative Ramy Abbas Issa and Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes was reached at the end of March, with the formalities of the deal concluded earlier this week.

Indeed, in an interview with BBC Sport, left-back Andy Robertson revealed he only found out about Salah's new contract on Thursday.

Liverpool pushed boat out for 'special case'

Salah is not taking a pay cut to stay at Liverpool - and will earn close to £400,000-per-week. The two-year contract offers him a level of security players of his age are not often afforded.

Liverpool have pushed the boat out, but haven't done so on a whim. Salah is a special case.

Replacing their talismanic attacker, who has made 54 goal contributions already this season, would be vastly difficult and, more pertinently, an expensive task.

Identifying a Salah replacement would be hard enough, but finding the sort of money to pull off such a deal would enter a higher plane of difficulty.

What appears to be Trent Alexander-Arnold's pending move to Real Madrid, when his contract expires this summer, would have provided Liverpool with greater financial leeway in their efforts to assemble financial packages to keep Salah and Virgil van Dijk, with the Dutchman expected to sign a new deal in the coming days.

Yet, while money is always a factor when it comes to contractual negotiations, it wasn't the determining consideration for a footballer at the peak of his powers.

Salah 'wanted elite sporting challenge'

If money was Salah's determining consideration, he'd have left Liverpool for the Saudi Pro League who, until as recently as last week, still believed they could attract him to the Middle East.

The financial lure of a move to Saudi Arabia was clear. The 'homecoming' of one of the greatest and recognisable Arab footballers - and the synergy, and earning power, for all parties was inescapable.

Indeed, sources have told BBC Sport that Salah was in line to earn at least £500m in Saudi – an eye-popping figure, although still short of the 1bn euros (£859m) Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr was reportedly offered.

It was said the option of exploring a Saudi move was first raised with Salah last February - and that door will likely remain open in the future.

But, right now, the forward has put sporting ambition ahead of his wallet.

Salah's a player at the top of his game - those close to the frontman believe he has at least another three years at the highest level.

The evidence suggests as much. His physique is optimum and his levels of professionalism are obsessive.

Salah believes he still has more to accomplish in European football too, starting, of course, with winning Liverpool's 20th league title this season.

He has ambitions on winning the Ballon d'Or too, with fifth his highest placing in both 2019 and 2022.

Salah also wants to win the Champions League again, and ensure Liverpool remain at the pinnacle of English football.

Interestingly, it is said another one of the key factors in his decision to re-sign was a desire to compete among the elite to help prepare for Egypt's forthcoming World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations campaigns.

It's the sporting challenge that has driven his decision for Salah, although the fact his wife Magi and daughters Makka and Kayan are enjoying life on Merseyside has also been described as a key factor too.