Mohamed Salah described Barcelona and Real Madrid as "two top clubs" in a recent interview and said "who knows what will happen" when asked about his future; Spanish football expert Alvaro Montero: "Here in Spain we see this as a way of Salah not closing the door..."
Monday 21 December 2020 15:53, UK
Mohamed Salah has left the door open for a future move to Barcelona or Real Madrid after describing the La Liga giants as "two top clubs", according to Spanish football expert Alvaro Montero.
The Liverpool forward, whose current contract runs until 2023, expressed his admiration for both Spanish clubs in a recent interview - fuelling speculation around his long-term future.
"I think Madrid and Barcelona are two top clubs," Salah told Spanish newspaper AS.
"Who knows what will happen in the future, but right now I am focused on winning the Premier League and the Champions League with Liverpool again."
When pressed, Salah added: "That's a tough question, but right now I can say that everything is in the hands of the club.
"Of course I want to break records here and, I repeat, all the club records, but everything is in the hands of the club."
Montero believes Salah is open to the possibility of leaving Liverpool but says it is "almost impossible" for Real Madrid to afford the Egypt international in the current financial climate.
"Here in Spain we see this as a way of Salah not closing the door for Barcelona and even Real Madrid," Montero told Sky Sports News.
"It is very well known that [Barcelona manager] Ronald Koeman needs some players. For example, he has asked for [Manchester City defender] Eric Garcia and Memphis Depay from Lyon.
"In the case of Real Madrid, it is a difficult situation right now economically because, although Mo Salah is an extremely good player and of course Real Madrid will need his goals with Karim Benzema, it is almost impossible.
"For instance, yesterday Real Madrid held their annual assembly. They've recognised that they've lost 107m euros because of the coronavirus crisis and after taxes, they finished the year with only 313,000 euros, which is of course a little amount of money when you count that Real Madrid's budget every single year is over 800-850m euros."
Montero says Real Madrid president Florentino Perez remains keen to sign Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe, with the club also interested in Borussia Dortmund's Erling Haaland.
Mbappe has been repeatedly linked with a move to the Bernabeu, with Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane once claiming to be "in love" with the France international.
Montero believes Real Madrid could attempt to sign the World Cup winner, once the club has recovered the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
"I would say that it is almost impossible for Real Madrid to try to buy a player in the next market," Montero added.
"Let's see what happens next summer. Real Madrid are thinking about Erling Haaland and, especially Florentino Perez, Kylian Mbappe."
