Tony Cascarino believes Liverpool winger Mo Salah should learn lessons from the mistakes made by the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez and Eden Hazard.
All four signed lucrative contracts (Aubameyang and Ozil at Arsenal, Sanchez at United, and Hazard with Real Madrid), but Cascarino says that none of them had success on the pitch after penning their new deals:
“Salah now there should be one overriding question: ‘am I going to be successful on the pitch in the Premier League and the Champions League. And do I have a manager and a right-back (and the rest of the team, of course) who can help me be successful on the pitch? So my advice to Salah would be to learn the lessons of these four players: Alexis Sánchez, Mesut Özil, Eden Hazard and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. All were able to sign massive contracts but none ended up as key players at clubs that were consistently winning things. As a result, their commercial value went through the floor. Not immediately, but once it was clear they were not challenging for honours.”
It’s an insightful point made by Cascarino. Focusing on the money, rather than on his football, would be a big mistake and Salah should be mindful of that in contract negotiations.
Of course, the Egyptian deserves to be recognised for his performances with a new deal that reflects his status, but asking for too much may lead to the Reds refusing to give in to his demands.
In that scenario, would it really be wise for him to leave Anfield for a bigger pay packet elsewhere? As Cascarino highlights, there are numerous examples of players who have struggled to find form following similar decisions.
