Ex-Liverpool forward Steve McManaman insists the team will have to let their star man Mohamed Salah leave if he asks for too much money.
The Egypt captain has been a key player for the Merseysiders since joining from AS Roma, and while negotiations over a new Reds deal is ongoing, the likes of Real Madrid and PSG are reportedly following the situation closely.
The former winger, who left the Reds for Real Madrid in 1999, is optimistic Salah and the club will agree to a new contract.
“If he wants too much money and Liverpool can’t afford it, they’ll have to let him go,” McManaman said as quoted by Independent.
“If he wants half a million a week, that won’t happen at Liverpool, but you would hope he wants something the club can afford and if that’s the case, then I’d expect him to stay.
“You can’t go ballistic paying wages to try and compete with PSG or Man City because they are in a different world financially.
“Someone else will be up next [for contract talks] and we’ve seen situations where one player gets a huge pay rise and then the next star player is upset and wants the same. It causes chaos in the team.
“You have to try and keep a lid on it somewhere.
“We have just come out of a pandemic and every big club has lost well over £100million and you can’t just go mad like that.
“Yes, pay him what he’s worth, I have no problem with that. He is a brilliant player, pay him what he’s worth. But if he wants to double his wages, you can’t do that. You have to be sensible, especially in these difficult financial times.”
Former Reds striker John Aldridge believes the club should try and sort out Salah’s future in the next few weeks and if it is not going to happen, then a big decision has to be made.
“You can’t let it go to a year [left] on his contract, which is what they did with Gini Wijnaldum and he saw it out,” Aldridge told the same portal.
“From a football perspective and a fan perspective, Liverpool have to do something. It’s a game of cards and the players hold all the aces. If you let them get into the position with one year left, you are only going to get beaten in the card game.
“Liverpool need to keep all their best players and he is one of them. He is on big money, probably the highest-paid player. Whatever he wants, they have to work it out between them.
“I wonder how much money footballers want at the end of their career? I wonder how much cash people need to be happy and it borders on greed at times, but some players are very, very greedy.
“Liverpool need to sort Salah’s future out in the next few weeks, and if he isn’t going to sign a new deal, then a big decision has to be made on what happens next.”
