Mo Salah transfer astonishingly vetoed as Liverpool legend sees Barcelona exit route crumble

The future of Mohamed Salah remains up for question but one major exit route the Liverpool forward has been linked with appears to have been ruled out – with Barcelona seemingly set to withdraw from the race to sign him.

Salah is in the final year of his contract with Liverpool and remains a top target for the Saudi Pro League, but with the form he has been in, he has every right to be wanting to continue his career in Europe, which has led to clubs like Barcelona being linked with him as well.

If Salah becomes available on a free transfer, he could become an achievable target for Barcelona, whose directors are said to be giving careful consideration to the idea of adding him to their attack.

But in a remarkable update, it has been claimed that Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick is not in favour of signing Salah.

According to El Nacional, Flick believes Salah – at the age of 32 – is too old for Barcelona to invest in, even on a free transfer. The report claims that ‘it doesn’t seem like anything or anyone can change his mind’.

After all, Salah plays on the same wing as Lamine Yamal, who Barcelona have enormous hopes for and at the age of 17 already represents the present and future of their attack.

Adding Salah could block the teenager’s pathway, or at least slow his development, which is not what Barcelona want to do when they have a star at the ready.

Barcelona focus on Salah alternative

With a move to Salah seemingly off the cards, Barcelona may turn their attention to a different winger, but still by looking at the free-agent market.

El Nacional claims Flick would prefer Barcelona to make a move for Leroy Sane, who is due to reach the end of his contract with Bayern Munich by the time the season ends.

Sane can play on either wing, so wouldn’t necessarily represent an obstacle to Barcelona’s current options, but rather healthy competition – and Flick knows him well from their time at Bayern and with the Germany national team.

As for Salah, there could still be a chance to remain in Europe if a club like Paris Saint-Germain were to firm up interest – but reports are pointing to his move to Saudi Arabia finally going through.

Yet although the report claims Salah is ready for a ‘new challenge’, it’s not yet to be taken for granted that he will be leaving Liverpool, who could yet try and tie him down to a new contract.

El Nacional dismisses the idea of Salah staying at Liverpool, but as a Catalan source, perhaps its intention was to emphasise the chances of him moving to Barcelona – even if that now seems to be out of the question.

Latest Liverpool transfer rumours

With Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold all in the final year of their contracts, Liverpool have some work to do to tie down their key players.

Fortunately, there have been whispers of good news about Van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold, with TEAMtalk sources confirming a contract extension for the former is closer than people realise, and reports suggesting the latter could put pen to paper on a record-setting contract offer from Liverpool despite his links with Real Madrid.

The latest is that Liverpool believe Alexander-Arnold will officially sign his new deal before Christmas – and crucially, before he could sign a pre-contract agreement with Madrid.

In other news, Liverpool are said to have opened talks for their top target for the left-back position, where they are looking for an upgrade over Andy Robertson.

IN FOCUS: Salah’s importance to Liverpool’s success