Al-Ittihad Demands Budget Condition in Mohamed Salah Transfer Talks

Al-Ittihad Club in Saudi Arabia has set a condition that it will not allocate the entire cost of signing Egyptian star Mohamed Salah to its budget in order to proceed with negotiations for acquiring the national team captain during the upcoming summer transfer window.

Saudi journalist Fahd Al-Muhayawi revealed that Al-Ittihad's management remains firm on not counting Mohamed Salah's transfer fee within the club's budget allocated by the recruitment committee, or alternatively, having the club cover only a small portion of the player's salary while another party finances the majority of the deal.

The club's administration views Mohamed Salah as the most crucial element in its new sports project, especially following a difficult season marked by declining results and the departure of several prominent stars, including French players Karim Benzema and N'Golo Kanté.

Reports also indicate that Al-Ittihad does not intend to engage in excessive financial bidding to finalize the deal. Instead, the club prefers to offer a salary close to what Salah currently earns at Liverpool, with a modest increase, steering clear of the inflated figures that characterized some early Saudi league transfers. Part of Al-Ittihad's new recruitment strategy includes signing multiple players rather than focusing on a single high-profile acquisition to ensure overall team quality.

It is noteworthy that Mohamed Salah officially announced his departure from Liverpool at the end of the current season after a nine-year tenure during which the Egyptian forward secured numerous individual and team titles, establishing himself as one of the club's greatest players in history.