Mohamed Salah says he ‘wants’ Liverpool stay as contract winds down: ‘I’m not asking for crazy stuff’

Mo Salah has declared his desire to remain at Anfield and told GQ of his demands to the Reds over a contract extension which the Egypt international does not believe are unreasonable. The 29-year-old, currently on Africa Cup of Nations duty in Cameroon, has made it clear that his future plans do not lie away from Jurgen Klopp’s side — provided that desire is mutual.

“I want to stay, but it is not in my hands,” he said. “It is in their hands. They know what I want. I am not asking for crazy stuff. The thing is when you ask for something and they show you they can give you something.”

Salah, who currently leads the Premier League scoring charts with 16 goals, believes that Liverpool should accept his demands “because they appreciate” what he has done for the Merseyside giants since joining in 2017 from AS Roma.

“I have been here for my fifth year now,” added the ex-Chelsea and FC Basel man. “I know the club very well. I love the fans. The fans love me. But with the administration, they have (been) told the situation. It is in their hands.”

Liverpool’s No. 11 was seventh in the 2021 Ballon d’Or ranking but admitted that the prestigious awards factors into his thoughts about his future and his desire to remain with the club beyond his deal’s 2023 expiry date.

“If you asked me if this was a drive for me to be here? Yeah, of course,” he said. “I cannot really lie and say honestly I did not think about it. No, I think about it. I want to be the best player in the world. But I will have a good life even if I do not win (the Ballon d’Or). My life is OK, everything is fine.”

Salah is recognized as one of the best players in the world, but many would not have predicted this after he struggled to establish himself with Chelsea between 2014-16 which included loan spells with Fiorentina and then Roma where he revived himself.

“It was so tough for me, mentally,” the Egyptian said of his Stamford Bridge spell. “I could not handle the pressure I had from the media, coming from outside. I was not playing that much. I felt, ‘No, I need to go.’”

You can follow Salah and his Egypt teammates in their Africa Cup of Nations quest in Cameroon which sees them start in Group D against Nigeria before facing Guinea-Bissau and then Sudan.