Jurgen Klopp debunks biggest ever Mohamed Salah to Liverpool transfer myth – ‘we were 100% convinced’ | OneFootball

Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has finally put to bed one of the biggest ever conspiracy theories surrounding Mohamed Salah’s transfer to Anfield – while the president of an MLS side has opened up on the chances of the Egyptian making a shock move to his club.

Salah joined the Reds in July 2017 for a fee of £36.9m and he has proved one of the most astute signings in the club’s rich history. Scoring a whopping 255 goals to catapult himself up to third on the club’s all-time top scorers list, the Egyptian will go down in folklore as one of the club’s greatest-ever players.

Now, after it was confirmed the player would be leaving Liverpool at the end of the season, people have been sharing their memories of the player as he prepares to bring the curtain down on nine hugely successful seasons on Merseyside.

At the time of his move, eyebrows were raised about both the wisdom of Liverpool’s move, given the player had previously failed to impress during a stint with Chelsea, and whether better options were actually out there for the Reds.

Indeed, one theory that has been strongly bandied about over the last decade is that Klopp actually preferred to sign Julian Brandt instead, and was only convinced to move for Salah after being rejected by the German and thanks to a strong word from then-sporting director, Michael Edwards.

Now, Klopp has addressed those rumours for the first time and has not only moved to put them to bed, but he is also adamant that everyone was “100% convinced” to move for the Egyptian and that there was a strong feeling he was always destined to be a success.

“There’s always a story that I wanted to sign, I don’t even know exactly one… Julian Brandt,” Klopp told The Anfield Wrap.

“The situation with that is you go for a winger, you talk to seven or eight [players] if you’re lucky.

“Yes, we spoke to Brandt, but we spoke to Mo Salah. It was not that he [Brandt] did not want [to sign], so we took him [Salah]… Whatever people think, I don’t care.

“In the moment, we were 100% convinced he was the one, even more convinced than he was.”

MLS side addresses Mo Salah transfer speculation

Meanwhile, with the debate raging on over where Salah will end up next, and with Major League Soccer touted as one destination, the president of York City FC has now spoken out to address claims the player could be heading to join his club.

However, despite the speculation, Brad Sims is adamant there has been no contact with the Egyptian superstar or his representatives.

Per Ben Jacobs, writing on X, Sims said: “I would love to have Mo Salah. We have not had any discussions with him or his people. What is most important is does the player want to come to MLS and be in New York City.

“We are not going to go out and sell someone on New York, the league or our club. We want players who really want to be here.

“And the other thing about star players is you need to make good choices… You need the guys who are going to be the hardest trainers, good teammates and good for the locker room and the culture. We do a lot of due diligence, and not just on star players.”

That update comes after Jamie Carragher floated the idea that Salah is destined to return to Italy this summer, insisting that the former Roma star is not yet done at playing top-level football.

“I think Mo Salah, the way he’s driven like a Ronaldo, I don’t see the Saudi thing just yet,” the pundit said.

“I can see him in Italy with one of the giants. I just think your career’s over when you go there [Saudi Arabia]. I think he’ll still be looking at his Champions League record or how many goals he can get.

“I still think he thinks, ‘I’m still one of the best players, and me leaving now is not the end of my top-level career, I’ve still got something to give’.”

That view has also been backed up by outspoken former Sky Sports presenter Richard Keys, who posted on social media: ‘My Arabic colleagues tell me we shouldn’t rule out a move back to Italy for Salah.’

Despite that, as TEAMtalk revealed at the start of March, Saudi officials have been pushing hard to bring Salah to the Middle East – and sources have now confirmed talks are at an advanced stage.

Salah has long been identified as the future figurehead of the Pro League, with officials determined to secure arguably the world’s most prominent Muslim athlete as the face of their project. The Egyptian superstar is viewed as the natural successor to Cristiano Ronaldo in that role.

We can reveal that Salah has been offered a package comparable to Ronaldo’s current deal — one that would see him become one of the highest-paid players in football history, while also taking on a significant ambassadorial position to promote the league globally.

Latest Liverpool news: Everton star tracked; Reds to sign TWO new wingers?

If you missed our exclusive news on Thursday, we explained how Liverpool had added Everton star Iliman Ndiaye to their list of admired wingers that they could explore a summer deal for.

The Senegalese star has been the star turn on the blue half of Merseyside this season, contributing six goals and three assists so far.

As a result, we understand Liverpool are very much admirers of the star and would consider a controversial cross-city move this summer if they received any encouragement.

However, Everton’s stance on a would-be transfer to Liverpool for the winger has been made crystal clear to our sources.

Meanwhile, Liverpool are in the market to ‘sign TWO wingers’ this summer, as per a reliable journalist, who has also named seven potential targets.

However, Michael Olise will not be moving to Anfield after Bayern Munich chief Uli Hoeness echoed our claims that the France winger is not for sale under any circumstances.

Elsewhere, TEAMtalk understands that Sunderland could face a summer battle to keep a versatile star this summer, with multiple Premier League clubs, including Liverpool, ready to make a move and very much tempted by his lowly asking price.