Sensational deal: is Mohamed Salah heading to Atletico Madrid?

Atlético Madrid want to pounce on Salah's current situation, according to reports in Spain, with the aim of landing him on a free transfer.

According to the website "Fichajes", Atlético's board have already held preliminary talks to establish Salah's financial demands. The club want to complete the deal without paying a transfer fee, handing them an economic advantage over signing other stars.

The Spanish side plan to offer a two-year contract, with the option of a third season depending on the player's form and performance. One obstacle stands above the rest: the Egyptian's hefty wage demands. Atlético's management are working to find a suitable formula to deal with them.

Atletico Madrid will most likely be unable to match the financial muscle of the Saudi league. Yet the Spanish offer carries a different appeal, one 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 he believes the sporting project matches his ambitions at this stage of his career.

His salary may fall short of the Gulf offers, but Atletico Madrid know his marketing and technical value. They could hand him a strong financial contract by European standards, with incentives tied to performance and titles.

Salah may therefore find himself weighing up an ideal equation: a large income coupled with a place in one of the most competitive environments in world football.

Salah knows, too, that his next contract will in all likelihood be the last of his career, and he wants to squeeze the biggest financial return he can from it.

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Offers from the Gulf or elsewhere could deliver that. But if Salah wants to keep competing at the very top, Atletico Madrid would suit him best.