PIF slash spending as Salah payday is in jeopardy with FIVE teams ready to pounce for Liverpool star | OneFootball

Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah could be forced to lower his salary expectations ahead of a potential move to Saudi Arabia this summer, according to reports.

Salah came out swinging in early December, when he accused Liverpool and manager Arne Slot of making him a scapegoat for their poor early-season form after being left on the bench against Leeds.

After talks with Slot, Salah was quickly brought back into the side with the Liverpool duo agreeing to put their differences aside until the end of the season.

And Liverpool announced last month that Salah will be leaving Anfield at the end of the season after months of speculation that he could look for a new challenge.

The obvious potential destination on everyone’s lips has been Saudi Arabia, with rumours that Liverpool rejected a £150m bid from Saudi Arabia back in August 2023.

The Saudi Pro League are still looking to make him the face of the league but BBC Sport are now reporting that the Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF)’s have decided to withdraw its $5bn (£3.7bn) funding of LIV Golf, which could be seen in football soon too.

As the Iran war will likely have had an impact on their thinking and there could now be restrictions on the length PIF will go to get players from abroad to join the Saudi Pro League.

Dr Kristian Ulrichsen, a Middle East analyst at the Baker Institute, told the BBC: “The new plan suggests PIF is no longer willing to keep pumping resources into projects that offer little prospect of profitability.

“The perception that resources – and ambitions – were limitless has given way to a more realistic assessment of what is feasible in a more constrained financial environment.

“That predated the war with Iran and has been underway for more than a year now.”

Dr Ulrichsen added: “This is not to say that PIF or Saudi Arabia is pulling out of sports investment but that the authorities are having to prioritise the allocation of resources more carefully.

“It is likely that PIF and the Saudi state will prioritise the World Cup going forward, at the expense of other sports projects, including LIV Golf.”

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Sky Sports News reporter Kaveh Solhekol has discussed how Liverpool forward Salah and other players wanting to go to Saudi could now be impacted by the potential change in attitude.

Solhekol said on Sky Sports: “There have already been some changes to the way they invest in football.

“When they first put money into the Saudi Pro League, there was a massive splurge on players. Cristiano Ronaldo is there earning astronomical sums of money.

“There has been a pull back and there will continue to be a pull back. What does that mean for somebody like Mohamed Salah?

“There’s still a big appetite from the Saudi Pro League to sign Salah this summer – but perhaps he wouldn’t be earning as much as if he had moved to Saudi a few years ago.

“There’s a war going on in the Middle East and economies all around the world have been affected, especially those in the Gulf.

“Saudi Arabia is saying: ‘We’re going to continue investing in sport but we’re going to be very sensible.'”

Five teams in the mix to sign Salah in the summer

As revealed on TEAMtalk, Salah is very much still wanted by the Saudi Pro League with PIF actually stepping up their pursuit in the Egypt international.

The Saudi Pro League see the Egypt international as a marquee signing with Salah to boost the league as he’s the most high-profile Muslim footballer in the world.

Salah is open to the move but there is also interest from elsewhere, including Major League Soccer in the United States, while our information insists that five teams are in the mix for his signature.

The PIF-backed quartet of Al-Hilal, Al-Nassr, Al-Ittihad and Al-Ahli are interested in bringing Salah to the Middle East, while Al-Qadsiah – who are managed by Brendan Rodgers – are a surprise potential destination.