Mohamed Salah’s potential Saudi Pro League transfer could bring the most unlikely of friends, and enemies.
The Liverpool superstar is the subject of a £150million offer from league champions Al Ittihad, with talkSPORT understanding another eye-watering bid is on the way.
Jurgen Klopp is adamant his most loyal goalscorer isn’t for sale, but money talks, and Al Ittihad are a hard team to say no to.
Just ask his former teammate Fabinho, and World Cup winner N’Golo Kante, while even Portuguese superstar Jota couldn’t reject their advances despite his career being in its infancy.
Before all of them was arguably the biggest deal in the league’s history, eclipsing even Cristiano Ronaldo to Al Nassr in December.
And it’s one that Salah might not be too pleased with, considering his history.
Four-time Champions League winner Karim Benzema opted for Al Ittihad less than a year on from his Ballon d’Or win, paving the way for others at the peak of their powers to make the jump.
Salah may well be one of them at 31 years of age, but initially he might be sick of the sight of his potential new teammate.
The Egyptian has faced the French great on seven occasions, and hasn’t won a single match.
In fact, he has just a single draw in that spell, coming during a Champions League quarter-final tie for Real in 2021.
An injury-hit Liverpool were no match on that occasion, but it was the other ties that left some of the biggest scars during Salah’s career.
The 2018 Champions League final saw the forward leave the pitch in tears after a tangle with Sergio Ramos, while Karim Benzema triggered the 3-1 win by capitalising on a nightmare-inducing Loris Karius error.
In 2022, Salah lost his second Champions League final, again at the hands of Benzema as Thibaut
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