Gary Neville says he ‘had a feeling’ that 28-year-old Liverpool star would want to leave

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Gary Neville has admitted that he felt Mohamed Salah would have left Liverpool by now, as per his comments on Monday Night Football, which was broadcast on Sky Sports.

Salah has been a key player for Liverpool for a number of seasons now, but there have always been tentative links with Real Madrid and Barcelona in the background.

The £44 million Egyptian (Guardian) has a ruthless edge to his game, which Neville has previously felt would make a move more likely.

And the pundit is not particularly surprised that Salah has not committed his future at Anfield, with the Liverpool winger having just two and a half years left on his contract now.

“I thought Salah would always leave Liverpool. I said it a couple of years ago that he would leave in the next 18 months, but maybe I was a little premature,” he said.

“I just had a feeling he would want to go and explore playing in another country so it doesn’t surprise me [that he’s not signed a new contract].

“The reason that I’ve always chosen Salah over Mane is because he’s cold-blooded.

“Mane is a team player, Salah is cold-blooded and that’s not negative. That makes Liverpool vicious as a team.

“That’s why the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona, PSG or whoever it is that’s after him want him.

“I don’t think Liverpool will be forced to sell or messed around, they have a strength and authority, but they’ll come a decision in the next six to 12 months with what to do with him.

“They won’t let him run down his contract, so they could cash in on him and see an opportunity to go for someone else.”

If Salah was to leave Liverpool it would undoubtedly be a huge blow.

While the arrival of Diogo Jota has given them more strength in depth in attack, Salah’s goalscoring numbers make him practically irreplaceable.

Since moving to Anfield, Salah has hit 110 goals in 173 matches across all competitions, which is a simply incredible return.

Even this season Salah’s form has not slowed down, as he has 13 goals in 13 Premier League matches and currently leads the top goalscoring charts in the division.