The future of Mohammed Salah hangs in the balance and a switch to the Saudi Pro League might have taken a step closer to fruition.
Liverpool want to retain the services of the 32-year-old, the top scorer in the Premier League this season. His contract expires in the summer, along with those of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk, and talks about an extension are reportedly at an impasse.
Salah’s hints that he will indeed leave Liverpool could perhaps be interpreted as a negotiation tactic but Al-Hilal, who terminated Neymar’s contract to allow him to return to Brazil, have emerged front-runners should he choose to leave.
Proposed rule change could speed up Salah move
Jason Burt of The Telegraph reports that Neymar’s contract termination has created the space Al-Hilal need to bring in a marquee replacement. The Saudi Pro League’s long-standing interest in Salah puts him at the front of the queue.
Al-Hilal will be the Saudi representatives at the Club World Cup in the United States in the summer and the FIFA Council has approved a rule change that would allow them to sign Salah in a special transfer window before the competition begins.
The clubs participating in the Club World Cup have a range of registration periods, meaning some would be able to make new signings in time for the competition and others would not.
To address that, FIFA is proposing that an additional transfer window runs from June 10th, with the usual transfer window opening as normal on June 12th and the Club World Cup beginning on June 14th.
If Salah does choose to join Al-Hilal at the conclusion of his Liverpool contract, the rule change would allow the Riyadh-based club to register him in time to play.
Al-Hilal kick off their Club World Cup campaign against Real Madrid in Miami before completing their Group H schedule with fixtures against Red Bull Salzburg in Washington, D.C. and Pachuca in Nashville.
Salah, who is the 3/1 favourite to win the 2025 Ballon d’Or, has been the object of the Saudi Pro League’s desire for a number of years. Now in his thirties, the expected agreement that he would be permitted to live in Egypt is thought to be a motivating factor alongside a significant pay increase.
Al-Hilal are now managed by former Benfica and Sporting CP boss Jorge Jesus, who had a previous spell at the club before spells in Rio de Janeiro, Lisbon and Istanbul.
They won the Pro League last season and currently sit in first place, ahead of Al-Ittihad on goal difference after 17 games.
