Liverpool star Mohamed Salah has reportedly emerged as a serious transfer target for La Liga giants Barcelona.
Speculation over the 32-year-old's future at Anfield has been rife for some time, with his current contract due to expire in the summer of 2025.
Salah has earned legendary status during his hugely successful seven-and-a-half-year stay on the red side of Merseyside, scoring 220 goals and registering 98 assists in 365 appearances as well as winning a total of seven trophies.
The Egyptian was an integral first-team figure under former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp and remains a first-team star under new head coach Arne Slot, contributing with nine goals and nine assists in 16 games so far this season.
Salah, who has regularly been linked with a move to the Saudi Pro League, seemingly dropped a huge hint over his future at the beginning of September when he claimed that the 2024-25 season would be his "last" in a Liverpool shirt.
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Could Salah swap Liverpool for Barcelona?
Liverpool's No.11 has since publicly addressed his uncertain contract situation at Anfield, posting a mysterious social media message after scoring in last weekend's 2-1 win over Brighton & Hove Albion to suggest that he could be open to committing his future to the Reds.
However, according to Spanish news outlet Sport, Salah is now willing to 'change scenery' at this stage of his career and Barcelona could reignite their interest in the Egyptian having previously held talks in 2021.
The report states that Salah 'is going to listen to offers' - presumably meaning that he is open to negotiating a pre-contract agreement with other clubs from January onwards - and his relationship with Barca 'is still open'.
Barcelona are known to be on the lookout for a new wide forward, with Athletic Bilbao's Nico Williams said to be their primary target.
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Barcelona weigh up 'feasible' Salah pursuit
The Catalan giants tried and failed to lure the Euro 2024 winner to Camp Nou in the summer and may struggle to afford to recruit him next summer considering their well-documented financial issues.
Salah has therefore emerged as an alternative target and it is said to be 'clear' among Barca's hierarchy that 'the operation' to sign the Liverpool attacker 'would be feasible' if he were to leave Anfield on a free transfer next summer.
Amidst their financial issues, Barcelona have regularly delved into the free agent market to sign players, including some over the age of 30 including Sergio Aguero, Marcos Alonso, Inigo Martinez, Ilkay Gundogan and most recently Wojciech Szczesny.
Salah would arguably be the biggest coup of all should they successfully persuade him to leave Liverpool, although it remains to be seen whether Barcelona would be able to offer the Egyptian a big-money salary that could rival those potentially tabled by Saudi Pro League clubs.
Oliver Thomas
