Lionel Messi gone, Mohamed Salah next? Liverpool sent ‘nailed on’ PSG transfer warning as Robbie Fowler also puts Real Madrid in the hunt

• Argentine icon leaving Parc des Princes
• Blancos also in the market for goals
• Reds missed out on top-four finish

WHAT HAPPENED? That claim has been made by Reds legend Robbie Fowler, who also believes that Real Madrid will express interest in the Egyptian forward during the summer transfer window. Both the Blancos and PSG are in the market for more firepower after seeing Ballon d’Or winners leave their respective ranks – with Messi bidding farewell to the French capital, while Karim Benzema has severed ties with La Liga giants in the Spanish equivalent.

WHAT THEY SAID: With Salah’s prolific record in front of goal making him of obvious interest to any side on the planet, former Liverpool striker Fowler has said in The Mirror: “[Robert] Lewandowski looks like he’ll finish his career at Barcelona, while no way can I see [Erling] Haaland or [Kylian] Mbappe being available this summer, or any time soon. Which leaves [Harry] Kane and Salah…and Neymar, if anyone is daft enough to take a punt on a player who looks like he’s had enough of football. Four of the biggest clubs in the world who want one thing – the guarantee of goals. And two strikers in English football who have delivered them magnificently over the past seven years. There’s going to be a helluva scrap.

“I only mention Salah because I’ve thought for a few months now that he could be targeted this summer, and it wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if both Madrid and PSG come in for him – with the French club nailed on in my opinion to try and get him. I don’t think Liverpool fans should be too worried, because he’s got a long contract and the club has proved in the past few years they won’t be forced into selling unless its on their own terms. In saying that, that his statement at the end of the season declaring how devastated he was they didn’t finish in the top four, and there’s no excuse for it was a worry. To me, that didn’t sound like Mo, but his agent. And we know how HE operates. PSG have to bring in a big, big name to replace Messi this summer, and probably Neymar too. So they’ll be swinging big – and they could have a real go at Kane too.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Salah committed to a new contract at Liverpool last summer that is intended to keep him at Anfield through to 2025, meaning that the Reds are under no pressure to part with a talismanic presence.

IN TWO PHOTOS:

Getty Images

Getty

WHAT NEXT? Salah has hit 186 goals for Liverpool through 305 appearances, breaking a number of records along the way, but Jurgen Klopp’s side could only muster a fifth-place finish in 2022-23 and will be without Champions League football next season.