Mohamed Salah exit decision could give Liverpool $600M transfer war chest

With Mohamed Salah set to leave Liverpool this summer, one soccer finance expert believes the club could embark on another big spending spree, despite the Egyptian leaving for free

Mohamed Salah's departure could enable Liverpool to go on another big spending spree in the summer(Image: Getty Images)

Liverpool could have room to go big again in the summer transfer window following Mohamed Salah’s departure, according to one soccer finance expert.

Salah has confirmed he will be leaving the club at the end of the current season, having made the surprise announcement on Tuesday in a video message.

The 33-year-old has reached an agreement with Liverpool, which will see the club waive the final year of his contract, which he signed only last year, enabling him to leave Anfield for free. Although that does mean the Reds will miss out on a potentially big transfer fee, the club will be removing its highest earner in time for the opening of the summer window.

And that could open the door for another big shopping spree akin to last summer’s major spending, according to Rob Wilson, Professor of Applied Sport Finance at University Campus of Football Business in London.

Liverpool spent around $600 million last year on new signings, including the record-breaking additions of Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak. While another summer like that would come as a surprise — especially if the Reds miss out on a place in the Champions League — it hasn’t been ruled out once Salah is off the books.

“Where does it leave Liverpool?” Wilson told BettingLounge.

“Salah is 33 years of age. His performance levels have dipped. Extracting any meaningful transfer fee while also removing the highest-earner off their wage bill just wasn’t realistic so terminating his contract makes financial sense.

Mohamed Salah has confirmed that he will leave Liverpool at the end of the season(Image: Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)

“From Liverpool's perspective, the economics are really quite clear, even if emotionally, particularly for the fans, it probably feels like the end of an era.

“Salah's been one of the most commercially impactful players in the club's modern history but I think we're at a point now where his on-the-pitch contribution, age profile and wage level has really diverged from an optimal position in terms of squad efficiency.

“I think Liverpool really should have cashed in when he was at peak value before providing him with a very lucrative contract and what we're seeing now is an outcome of that big decision, tying him to excessive wages at a time when his physical prowess will naturally diminish.

“From what I'm seeing there will be no transfer fee. It’s a termination of contract. What that means is that they remove one of the highest salary commitments that they've got on their books and from a pure financial modelling standpoint it is a positive outcome.

“It frees up some PSR space and so on, so what you're really doing is recycling capital to free up wages, create that headroom and enable you to reinvest into younger assets with more longer-term resale value.”

Wilson added: “Naturally there is of course a commercial trade-off. Salah has been central to Liverpool's global brand, and particularly their digital footprint, and their branding exercise in the Middle East and Africa, so his departure will probably create a short term dip in engagement metrics.

Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes and FSG's CEO of football Michael Edwards could have plenty of money to play with(Image: Getty Images)

“Things like shirt sales, digital reach and sponsorship activation in those territories which means, when coupled with Liverpool's rather patchy season that they've had in the Premier League, it is likely to damage their market share in those territories, although they are naturally a very historical brand.

“To counteract that, we probably should say that Liverpool's commercial models are much more mature and diversified than many other clubs in the Premier League. They're already less dependent on a single individual than they might have been five years ago.

“The key will not be how quickly they can replace Salah’s output but how quickly they can change the narrative. Soccer brands are built on storytelling as much as they are on performance.”