A Saudi Arabian club owner has spoken out about Mohamed Salah transfer rumors, largely playing down talk of signing the Liverpool star.
Ben Harburg, an American sports investor who runs Al-Khorod, addressed the ongoing Salah issue amid the rift between the Egyptian player and Reds manager Arne Slott.
Needless to say, as you can see in the video clip below, the Harburg manager was clearly unimpressed with Salah’s actions after criticizing Slot for leaving him on the bench in a recent match…
Even if Salah were a big name, Harburg feels he is no longer likely to be a top target for Saudi clubs, having turned down offers from Saudi clubs in the past and now publicly criticizing his current employers.
Ben Harburg criticizes Mohamed Salah, downplays Saudi transfer relationship
When asked about Salah’s transfer, Harburg said:
“He’s 33 years old, he was getting paid a lot of money about a year ago, whatever it is, and he’s underperformed a lot since then.
“I don’t think he’s a great team player. As an owner, watching him act there…If a player isn’t performing, they don’t put him in the starting lineup. We don’t put people in the starting lineup based on what they did three seasons ago, or even last season.”
“For me, all of those things combined, I think it’s a pretty toxic combination of factors. So I think it’s better for him not to come here. I think some people like his star quality, and he’s from this area, but my feeling is he doesn’t belong in our league.”
“Rather, between him and Vinicius, I would choose Vinicius.
“We want to go after the next wave of players who are 25 years old, rather than players like Salah, who will definitely see this end to his career.”
What happens next if Salah leaves Liverpool?
This may not necessarily be representative of the feelings of other people in Saudi Arabia, but it would be a bit of a warning sign if Salah were to leave Liverpool.
The 33-year-old may have displeased potential suitors with his recent antics, but he has also been left out of Slot’s matchday squad for this week’s game against Inter Milan.
I’m sure Salah will find a suitor somewhere after his impressive career with LFC, but this is a reminder that you can’t necessarily expect him to throw a tantrum like this and move on to another team.
That said, this seems tough on Salah as well, given that Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to Al Nasr happened in much the same way, but it’s not like Vinicius hasn’t had problems with Real Madrid’s management this season either.
