Liverpool star Luis Diaz has made a desperate appeal to Mohamed Salah in a bid to convince him to stay at the Reds.
Salah is widely regarded as one of Liverpool’s best players of the modern era, having scored 214 goals in 352 appearances for the club, most recently against arch-rivals Manchester United last weekend.
But the forward raised eyebrows after the match when he suggested that the current season would be his last at the club, and also indicated that his contract expires soon and that he is not yet in negotiations over a new deal.
Diaz himself scored twice in the match, both goals set up by the Egyptian, but there may only be a handful of games left for the two stars when it comes to playing together.
Diaz is currently on international duty with Colombia and has spoken candidly about what it would feel like to lose Salah, who could leave the club for free next summer if he doesn’t sign a new deal.
Luis Diaz (left) has made a desperate plea to Mohamed Salah (right) over his future at Liverpool
The Reds striker raised eyebrows last weekend when he said he is currently in his ‘final year’ at Liverpool
He made it clear that his current contract expires at the end of the season and that no negotiations have taken place
“It would be difficult for us,” Diaz said Teleworld‘It would be difficult for Liverpool.
“It’s going to hurt us a lot. He has a year to think about it, it’s not easy. He always gives his best.
“He’s done it from the beginning. It would be very difficult to lose an important player like him. It’s his decision and we respect that, but I hope he doesn’t leave.”
Salah told Sky Sports at Old Trafford on Sunday: ‘I came to the game and I thought: ‘Look, this could be the last time (at Old Trafford)’.’
‘Nobody from the club has spoken to me about contracts yet. It’s not up to me, it’s up to the club, but we’ll see.
“As you know, this is my last year at the club. I just want to enjoy it. I don’t want to think about it (the contract). I feel like I’m free to play football and we’ll see what happens next year.”
The Egyptian joined the club from AS Roma in 2017 for £34million and has won the Champions League, Premier League and other trophies on Merseyside.
He is one of three key Liverpool players whose contracts expire next summer, with no agreement yet in place for any of the players.
Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk, like Salah, have less than a year left on their contracts, making Reds fans increasingly nervous about their futures.
The contracts of Trent Alexander-Arnold (left) and Virgil van Dijk (right) also expire at the end of the season
Salah has scored 214 goals in 352 games for Liverpool since joining from Roma in 2017
Diaz joined the club for £50million just over two years ago and has since scored 27 goals in 101 games.
He struggled for consistency under Jurgen Klopp, but has played a key role for Arne Slot so far, starting all three Premier League games this season and scoring three goals.