Getty Images SportMohamed Salah's future remains wide open after the Egyptian star left England's Liverpool during the current summer transfer window.
Nine years of brilliance and history-making came to an end this summer. Salah and Liverpool parted ways by mutual consent, with the forward hungry for a fresh adventure.
Plenty of clubs want him. Interest has poured in from the Turkish league and from the Roshn Saudi Pro League, where Al-Ittihad are leading the chase.
Getty Images SportAtletico Madrid want to pounce on Salah's current situation, according to reports in Spain, and land him as a free agent without paying a penny in transfer fees.
Website "Fichajes" claim Atletico's hierarchy have already held preliminary talks to sound out Salah's financial demands. The club are keen to wrap up the deal without a transfer fee, handing them an economic edge over signing other stars.
The Spanish side plan to offer a two-year contract with the option of a third, tied to the player's level and performance. One obstacle stands in the way: the huge wages the Egyptian is asking for. Atletico's board are working on a formula to make it fit.
Getty Images SportAtlético Madrid will most likely be unable to match the financial offers coming from the Saudi league, but the Spanish option carries a different kind of appeal that could push Mohamed Salah to consider it seriously.
At 34, the player may prefer to stay at the highest levels of European competition if the sporting project matches his ambitions at this stage of his career.
His salary may fall short of the Gulf offers. Even so, Atlético Madrid know the player's marketing and technical value, and could offer him a strong financial contract by European football standards, with incentives tied to performance and titles.
Salah may therefore find himself facing an ideal equation: a large income while continuing in one of the strongest competitive environments in world football.
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