Mohamed Salah has revealed he believed there was little chance he would remain at Liverpool.
Speaking to Gary Neville in a Sky Sports interview ahead of Liverpool’s clash with Brighton, the Egyptian opened up about how unlikely he thought a contract extension was when the season began.
Salah was asked by Neville to give a percentage on how confident he was about staying, Salah replied:
“Based on the club’s history, 10 percent. Yeah, because I knew the philosophy of the club. I’m not attacking them, I just know how they deal with players over 30. I knew what the situation would be.”
He added, “I didn’t expect the club to offer two more years. We reached a point with the money where we were all happy. But honestly, I didn’t expect to stay. In my head, I wasn’t staying.”
The forward was later asked about Trent Alexander-Arnold’s expected departure in the upcoming transfer window, to which he gave a heartfelt response.
“I told Trent not to look me in the eye when he says goodbye, because I love him so much,” Salah said.
Nevertheless, he backed his teammate’s decision after fans booed the fullback during the match against Arsenal, “He deserves the best possible farewell from the club. He’s done a lot for the city and the club. He was probably the best homegrown player in the club’s history, and now he wants a new challenge. That’s his decision. He’s 26 years old and has won the league twice. What more could he have done? He needs a change and another challenge. People don’t realize it.”
Salah recently signed a new two-year deal with Liverpool, extending his stay at Anfield into a tenth season.