Daniel Sturridge insists that with Mo Salah showing no sign of “slowing down,” Liverpool have “got to pay” the record-breaking forward what he’s asking.
Salah played alongside Sturridge for two seasons, sharing the pitch on 30 occasions, but the Egyptian – only three years his junior – has outlasted the now-retired striker.
That comes largely due to Salah’s remarkable fitness, with the 32-year-old able to not only play consistently week in, week out, but also score and assist at an unparalleled rate.
With Liverpool in talks over a new deal for their No. 11 but on the understanding that a compromise must be reached, Sturridge has explained his stance.
“It’s a Jerry Maguire moment. You’ve got to ‘show me the money!’,” he said on Sky Sports.
“For real, it’s as simple as it gets.
“These types of players – he’s scored 224 goals for the club; this season, top scorer; assists, top of that – where do you replace those numbers?
“You’re not going to find an individual player, these are rare finds in football.
“So is he slowing down? Are the stats slowing down? Is his intensity? Is his mindset? Is his attitude? No!”
Sturridge continued: “Whether it’s two or three-year contract, if it’s two years and he’s asking for big dough, you’ve got to pay it.”
Alongside Sturridge in the studio were fellow pundits Micah Richards, Roy Keane and Jamie Carragher, with Richards agreeing with his former Man City teammate.
“I would pay him. Not [just give him] what he wants, but you can’t let him go for free,” he said.
“He’s 33 when the contract’s ready. Give him two [years] until 35. The difference is now, historically we’re saying it’s too much because players were slowing down physically, but he’s in great shape.”
Keane added: “The big plus for Mo Salah on top of all this, amazing player: he’s always available. He’s always fit.
“So you try to replace that. If they’ve got someone else in the building who will get you over 20 goals a season and plays every game, then that’s fine, you might say ‘we’ve got a couple of young lads coming through, you move on’.
“But to try and replace Salah, who guarantees these performances in the big occasions, you’d have to go and spend fortunes.
“The people coming in for that money will want the big contract and there’s no guarantee they will produce for Liverpool.
“You already have a player in the building – and again, I agree, don’t ‘give them what they want’, nobody gets that, that’s why it’s called negotiation – you can’t take the chance of letting him walk out of the building on a free.”
Carragher, however, stressed that while Liverpool would need to “move the dial” for generational players like Salah and Virgil van Dijk, the club would still need to stick to their successful principles.
“I’ve got no problem with Mo Salah and Virgil van Dijk. They are two of the greatest players who have played for Liverpool,” he explained.
“Liverpool as a club, we know they’re run by data. So you can’t actually say ‘we’re delighted Michael Edwards is back and all the data people are back’ but then on the other hand say ‘give someone what they want’.
“You can’t say give someone what they want.
“These two, Virgil van Dijk and Mo Salah, let’s say there’s a rule, like anyone over 30 only gets a certain level of contract, you have to move the dial for players like that.
“I’m not saying he shouldn’t get a two-year deal, I’m not saying he shouldn’t be on big money – he’s on big money and rightly so, he’s one of the best players in the world.
“But this idea and this saying ‘give him what he wants’, this club is not built on giving people what they want.
“That’s where the success of the club has come from, being ahead of the game.”
