What Salah said about leaving Liverpool in 2022 show why fans shouldn't be worried by latest comments - opinion

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Liverpool fans may be forgiven for feeling a sense of deja vu during the current contract standoffs.

The Reds have seen a number of high quality stars leave for free over the past handful of years, with players rarely signing on to stay once they enter the last months of their deals.

More specifically, Liverpool supporters will feel like they have been here before with Mohamed Salah.

Salah has signed two further contracts since his move to Anfield in 2017, with a deserved bump after a stellar first season in 2018 and then the latest coming in 2022.

Two years ago was slightly different in that Salah still had one year to run on his deal, rather than being out of contract, as he will be this summer.

Nevertheless, the public utterings from Liverpool’s Egyptian King around an extension in 2022 are interesting when seen through the lens of his latest, explosive comments.

Mohamed Salah turns to the same playbook

Salah has sent the media into a frenzy with his latest comments around staying at Liverpool beyond this season.

“We’re almost in December and I haven’t received any offer to stay in the club yet, so I’m probably more out than in” the 32-year-old told reporters after scoring twice in Liverpool’s win over Southampton.

“In the end it’s not in my hands. As I said before it’s December and I haven’t received anything yet about my future. I love the fans, the fans love me but in the end it’s not in my hands.”

While no doubt alarming for many supporters, if we rewind to January 2022, when talk of a new contract for Salah was also reaching excruciating levels, the Egyptian had this to say about matters.

READ MORE: Liverpool legend Steve Nicol gives verdict on Mohamed Salah’s latest contract comments

“I want to stay, but it's not in my hands. It's in their hands. They know what I want. I'm not asking for crazy stuff. I love the fans and the club. But with the administration, they've been told the situation. It's in their hands.”

Sounds familiar, no? In the end, Salah of course came to an agreement with Liverpool and signed a three-year extension on July 1st 2022.

Given that Liverpool don’t have the security of an extra year on Mo’s contract, things are clearly more urgent this time around. But judging how it all played out when we did this dance before, supporters should not be too worried.

Mohamed Salah leverages fan relationship

There is no question that Mohamed Salah is a Liverpool legend. The No.11 is in fact comfortably in the best three or four players the club has ever seen. That will not change.

As a result, Salah has unconditional love amongst much of the fanbase. And while he has earned the right to do so, he is undoubtedly now using the love of the fans as leverage against the club.

While many supporters have taken the bait and hit out at the Liverpool owners on social media, the club themselves will take a more measured approach.

Just as they were 2022, Salah’s public declarations are simply negotiating tactics to ensure he gets the best deal for himself. There’s no problem with that, but fans shouldn’t fall for it.

There is still a chance that this time is different, of course, and that Salah does end up leaving.

However, while the pressure does now feel to be on the club following Mo’s unexpected remarks, no one of a Liverpool persuasion should be panicking just yet.