Jamie Carragher claims Mohamed Salah was 'sending message' with Real Madrid talk

Jamie Carragher has claimed that Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah chose to flirt with Real Madrid and Barcelona to send a message to his current club about his contract situation.

Normally one to keep his distance from the media, Salah recently sat down for an interview with Spanish journalists, in which he refused to rule out a move to either of the La Liga giants somewhere down the line.

Salah's words have sparked countless rumours suggesting the Egyptian is unhappy with life at Anfield, with some going as far as to suggest he was angling for a move away, but Carragher insisted there's nothing for fans to be concerned about.

"Some players became brand names, and the savviest fans know transfer rumours around them do not come out of thin air, " Carragher wrote in his column for The Telegraph.

"As we saw last weekend when Salah spoke to a prominent Spanish newspaper, they become part of the news agenda because someone, whether it is an advisor or the player himself, wants it to. You don’t do an interview with a newspaper close to Real Madrid unless you want to be asked about playing for Real Madrid.

"Naturally, that makes fans suspicious that a player is following a predetermined career path, and supporters at a club such as Liverpool are never going to welcome their team being spoken about as a stepping stone. It’s not that big a deal, but when there are so many brilliant players sharing a dressing room it can distinguish a player in popularity polls from those who might be equally coveted, but do not so publicly crave those transfer links. "

Carragher went on to suggest that Salah was simply pushing for a new contract at Anfield, and fans should not be worried by the idea of their star forward leaving the club next summer.

"Salah’s recent interview feeds that idea his career comes first," he continued. "His comments about being upset not to be made captain in a dead rubber against Midtjylland underlined it. They were odd. I – like most fans – did not think he should be playing in an inconsequential game, never mind be the skipper.

"The timing of the player initiating transfer stories is also strange. My view is it was a message to Liverpool’s owners to offer him a lucrative new deal.

"Seeing their players being courted by the La Liga clubs would have concerned Liverpool five years ago. Not now. I am not convinced Madrid and Barca can afford Salah. Investing well in excess of £125m on a player who will turn 29 this summer is not good business.

"Liverpool are in a different place in 2020 to when [Luis] Suarez, Javier Mascherano and Xabi Alonso moved from Anfield to Spain. They left for footballing reasons. No-one leaving Liverpool today can say they will improve their chances of winning trophies. Philippe Coutinho’s experience at the Nou Camp tells us that."

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