Jurgen Klopp responds to Saudi Arabia interest in Mohamed Salah
- Al Ittihad have reignited their pursuit of Salah
- Saudi side were planning a move in 2024 but have brought their interest forward
- Salah's agent has already denied claims he could leave
By Tom Gott
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has confirmed the Reds would not hesitate to turn down any offers for winger Mohamed Salah this summer.
Saudi Arabian outfit Al Ittihad have reignited their pursuit of the Egypt international, who has been among the top targets of Saudi Pro League officials ever since their plan to build a new footballing behemoth was written up.
Salah's agent spoke out earlier this summer to dismiss initial interest from the Middle East, insisting their decision to sign a new contract last summer should serve as evidence that Salah does not want to leave.
While Liverpool have already sold both Fabinho and Jordan Henderson to Saudi Arabia, 90min reported on Thursday there was no desire from the Reds to do the same with Salah.
Klopp has now confirmed as much, insisting there have not been any bids for Salah and any interested teams would be met with a swift dismissal if they came calling.
"It's difficult to talk about media stories because there is nothing to talk about from our point of view," Klopp told Friday's press conference. "We don't have an offer. Mo Salah is a Liverpool player.
"There is nothing there. If there would be something, the answer would be no. That's it."
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Asked if he had any concerns about Salah, Klopp insisted the Egyptian is "100%" committed to Liverpool.
"My life philosophy is that I think about a problem when I have it," he continued. "There's absolutely nothing at the moment. If something comes up, which I don't know, then I can think about it.
"But I said already, if there would be something [a bid], it would be no."
Klopp went on to admit he has struggled to cope with the emergence of a new financial superpower and urged authorities to level the playing field somewhat by synchronising the transfer windows.
"It's not cool for us," he said. "If we go and want a player from, I don't know, Wigan Athletic, we go there and they tell us the price and we pay it. It's like that in the Bundesliga, if Bayern Munich comes, if [Borussia] Dortmund comes, then [Arminia] Bielefeld, Mainz, they cannot react on that.
"Now, there's a next level and it's not great. This is part of the business, I'm not sure if you can change that or if someone will change that. But what makes it not possible to deal with anymore is that, at the moment, our transfer window closes and the other window stays open. If they don't stop, how can we react?
"In the past, it was Russia long ago. They had a different transfer window and could still come, but that wasn't with completely crazy money.
"It's new, it's challenging for everybody and we have to learn to deal with it. The authorities should make clear that, if you want to be part of the system, do your business at the same time like all the others at least. If we can't change the rest, at least change that. I'm pretty sure FIFA could do it like that [clicks fingers]. I'm not sure they want to, but they could."
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