Mohamed Salah says it is his “last year” at Liverpool and that nobody at the club has talked to him about a new contract.
The 32-year-old, whose current deal at Anfield is set to expire next summer, scored in the Reds’ thumping 3-0 win at Manchester United on Sunday.
Salah said afterwards he had treated the match like it was his last at Old Trafford.
“I was coming to the game, I was saying, ‘look, it could be the last time’,” he told Sky Sports.
“Nobody in the club talked to me yet about contracts so I was just like, ‘OK, I play my last season and see at the end of the season’.
“I feel I am free to play football – we will see what happens next year.”
When asked about Salah’s comments, manager Arne Slot said: “It’s a lot of ‘if’. At this moment he is one of ours and I am really happy with him being one of ours and he played really well.
“I don’t talk about contracts from players but I can talk for hours about how Mo played today.”
In July 2022, Salah signed a new three-year deal, making him reportedly the highest paid player in the club’s history, on more than £350,000 a week.
Liverpool rejected a £150m offer from Al-Ittihad for Salah last September.
Salah, who has now scored in each of Liverpool’s opening three games this season, enjoyed a record-breaking afternoon at Old Trafford:
Salah has either scored (11) or assisted (6) 17 of Liverpool’s last 23 Premier League goals against Manchester United. The Egyptian has more goal involvements versus the Red Devils than any other player in the competition.
He has scored 10 goals in nine appearances at Old Trafford for Liverpool in all competitions. He is only the second player to score 10+ goals at a single away ground for Premier League clubs since 1992-93, after Alan Shearer (10 at Elland Road).
Salah is the first player to score in five straight away appearances against Manchester United in the Premier League.
Victory against old rivals Manchester United leaves Liverpool second in the table, only behind leaders Manchester City on goals scored.
“A great result,” said Salah. “Everyone knows the derby is important for the fans and the city. We need to carry on and if you want to fight for the league you have to win each game.
“I managed to be involved in three so I am happy about that. The manager likes us to press high and there was a couple of mistakes and we managed to use them – it was part of the plan.
“With Jurgen we were always like this to get the ball as high as possible. Quite similar from seven years ago, the manager has his own system and we try to adapt that.”
SOURCE: BBC NEWS