Neil Jones

Salah stays! Liverpool star signs new contract to end speculation over Anfield exit

Mo Salah has signed a contract to keep him at Liverpool until 2025

Mohamed Salah has ended speculation over his Liverpool future by signing a new three-year contract with the club.

The Egyptian had been set to enter the final year of his current deal, but has now put pen to paper on an extension that will keep him at Anfield until 2025.

The 30-year-old becomes the highest-paid player in Reds history, reward for five years of stellar service since joining from Roma in 2017.

What are the details of Salah's new contract?

Salah's new deal was described only as "a long-term contract" in Liverpool's official announcement, but GOAL understands it is a three-year deal, which will see him become the best-paid player at the club by some distance.

The exact figures are unclear, and unlikely to be disclosed by either side at this stage, but it is understood that Salah's salary now places among the Premier League's highest earners.

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It brings to an end a lengthy and at-times fraught negotiation, with Salah's agent, Ramy Abbas Issa, Liverpool co-owner Mike Gordon and new sporting director Julian Ward having thrashed out a compromise.

Issa, indeed, was the man to deliver the first hint of a breakthrough on Friday afternoon, tweeting what has become a trademark 'cry laughing' emoji, which was soon responded to by Liverpool's official account.

A few minutes later came confirmation, Salah signing of a short, poolside video with the words every Liverpool fan had been so desperate to hear.

"Salah stays!"

What has Salah said about his new Liverpool contract?

Speaking to the Reds' official website, Salah said: “I feel great and [I am] excited to win trophies with the club. It’s a happy day for everyone.

“It takes a little bit of time, I think, to renew, but now everything is done so we just need to focus on what’s next.

“I think you can see in the last five or six years the team was always going [upwards]. Last season we were close to winning four, but unfortunately in the last week of the season we lost two trophies.

“I think we are in a good position to fight for everything. We have new signings as well. We just need to keep working hard, have a good vision, be positive and go for everything again.”

He added: “My message [to the fans] is the players in the team want to give our best next season to try to win all the trophies.

“As usual, you stay behind us and give us a big push and I am sure we are going to win trophies again [together].”

'A big win for Liverpool, and for Julian Ward'

The view from Neil Jones, GOAL's Liverpool FC Correspondent

It's the news every Liverpool fan has been waiting for, and the kind that can lift an entire club.

The Reds' best player is staying, and the fun, games and speculation over his future can stop.

Salah had made it clear, prior to the Champions League final, that he would be sticking around at Anfield for at least another year, but as July arrived there were serious doubts as to whether he would be there any longer.

When a player reaches the final 12 months of their contract, the likelihood is that they will not be renewing, especially given the apparently frosty relationship between the club and the player's agent, Ramy Abbas Issa.

As it is, all parties can be satisfied.

Liverpool get to keep their star man, a forward who has bagged 156 goals in five seasons on Merseyside. Jurgen Klopp gets some certainty about the composition of his side over the next three years.

Salah gets a hefty payrise, recognition for his magnificent form and achievements and, judging by the reaction on social media, a timely reminder of just how much he is loved and respected by Liverpool's supporters.

Abbas, too, gets his respect, having negotiated the biggest renewal in Reds history. He hasn't always been popular with Reds fans, but he's delivered for his client, big time.

And Julian Ward gets another tick in the 'W' column. Liverpool's new sporting director has now overseen renewals for both Klopp and Salah, he has finalised what could turn out to be the club-record purchase of Darwin Nunez, as well as the big-money signing of Luis Diaz, and he has negotiated the exit of a club legend in Sadio Mane.

And he only officially started in the role today.

All eyes, now, turn to the future. Liverpool's squad reports for pre-season training at Kirkby on Monday. There will be smiles all round, for sure.

None, one suspects, will be wider than the one on Salah's face...