Barcelona chief breaks silence over Mohamed Salah with cryptic warning aimed at scaring Liverpool

Barcelona president Joan Laporta has fired a warning shot at Liverpool over Mohamed Salah, with a very clear statement of intent over his prospective transfer.

The Egyptian striker has 15 months left on his contract at Anfield and talks over an extension are yet to yield a positive outcome. The Reds are desperate to pen their talismanic frontman down to a new deal, but as time ticks by, their concerns will be mounting.

Indeed, Liverpool owners FSG are willing to make Salah their best-paid player of all time. However, the Americans do have a pay structure and are not willing to go too high for the 29-year-old.

Reports state Salah is looking for a wage of around £400,000 – one in keeping with his status as one of the world’s elite stars.

However, while FSG are willing to offer him a payrise, the two parties seemingly remain some distance apart.

Salah has scored at least 23 goals in each season he’s had at Anfield. That initial £36.9m deal will perhaps go down as one of the greatest signings in the club’s history.

And in total, Salah has 153 goals in just 259 appearances for the Reds.

However, a parting of ways is looking ever more possible possible.

Interest in Salah has perhaps never been higher, especially given his contract status.

As such, Juventus are being strongly linked with a move. To that end, a report recently claimed the Egyptian is flattered by their interest.

However, the strongest interest perhaps comes from Barcelona.

Barcelona rebuilding under Xavi

Xavi’s side are rebuilding their side after a difficult couple of seasons. With Lionel Messi departing last summer, they don’t really have a world-class leader in their ranks.

That’s certainly a void Salah could fill, though he’s not the only big-name frontman to be linked of late.

Indeed, they are also reportedly chasing Robert Lewandowski and Erling Haaland.

Now, speaking for the first time about their summer plans, Laporta has made a big claim about the pulling power of Barcelona.

Salah wants Barcelona move to work with Xavi

Barcelona manager Xavi is a big admirer of Liverpool winger Mo Salah and Salah wants to work with Xavi

“Top players want to join Barca, that’s clear,” he told Spanish radio station RAC1.

Then, with a cryptic message about Lewandowski and Haaland, Laporta continued: “I can’t say if we’re in talks for Lewandowski and Salah or not or into the club. [If I do] they’ll tell me that I’m creating problems in the negotiations.”

Mohamed Salah talks set to resume

Currently Salah earns a deal worth around £200,000 a week. And while he is set to earn a payrise at Anfield, it may not be quite to the tune he expects.

As such, reports claim that while Salah is not agitating to leave, contract talks between the two parties are on hold for now.

However, these do look likely to resume at the end of the season. At that stage, much more will become clear on Salah’s future.

Knowing it will be the last major contract of his career, Salah is understood to be happy biding his time.

That said, there remains some doubt whether Barcelona would be even able to match the terms on offer at Liverpool.

Indeed, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang recently took a significant pay-cut to secure his move from Arsenal.

One man who does think Mohamed Salah is on his way, however, is Ally McCoist. He told TEAMtalk in an exclusive interview that he thinks the Reds are willing to sell the Egyptian this summer.