Liverpool have rejected Al-Ittihad's opening offer for Mohamed Salah and reaffirmed their stance that the forward is not for sale. However, the Saudi Pro League champions will not be dissuaded that easily and are pushing to convince the Egyptian to make the move from Anfield.
CBS Sports first revealed on Monday that Al-Ittihad were set to make a major bid for Salah, an offer that was ultimately made up of a guaranteed fee of £100 million with a further £50 million in clauses, not all of which were necessarily achievable. That offer was dismissed out of hand by Liverpool, who believe the matter to be concluded. They do not want to sell their star player, all the more so at a stage of the transfer window when they cannot secure a replacement.
Al-Ittihad and their owners the Public Investment Fund (PIF) are not expected to take no for an answer, however. One source close to the sovereign wealth fund told CBS Sports that "money won't be a problem" if it allows the Saudi Pro League to secure the most high-profile Muslim footballer in the world. Salah would be paid a salary that would place him alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar as the highest paid sportsman in the country whilst his acquisition would be viewed as a transformative deal that makes amends for their aborted pursuit of Lionel Messi.
A PIF delegation is in the UK today and they hope to secure Salah's signature before returning to Jeddah. However the Saudi Pro League transfer window does not close until September 7 and the champions will continue to chase his signature before the deadline.
