FSG sent nine-word Mohamed Salah message with Liverpool given contract priority

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink says Fenway Sports Group may deny Mohamed Salah a new Liverpool contract due to his age.

The Egyptian international will see his current deal at Anfield expire in June when he will be 33 years old. And while the forward has shown no signs of slowing down - with 18 goals and 13 assists this season - former Chelsea star Hasselbaink believes Salah could walk away from the club.

Speaking on The LineUp, in collaboration with BetMGM and talkSPORT, Hasselbaink said: "Mohamed Salah is doing the business week in, week out at the top, top level. There are not a lot of players like Salah who will be playing as well as he is in the last year of their contract.

"He can obviously put all of the distractions to the side and perform like he has been – I think it really shows how mentally strong he is. If I’m the manager of Liverpool, I obviously want to keep all three of Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold." However, Hasselbaink also admitted that the owners may see it differently, adding: "I would let Salah go because of his age."

He continued: "You would have to pay him mega money and I just don’t think you can give a player of his age a three-year contract. Business-wise, it’s not sustainable and the best business for Liverpool is to see him go."

Salah isn't alone in his contract expiring at the end of the current campaign either, with club captain Virgil van Dijk and England star Trent Alexander-Arnold both yet to put pen to paper on a new deal.

Like Salah, 33-year-old Van Dijk is approaching the twilight of his career - but has been incredibly vocal about his desire to seal a new deal at Anfield. Meanwhile, Alexander-Arnold, 26, has been heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid and will leave a substantial void in the current Liverpool set-up should he find his way to the Bernabeu for free in the summer.

Image: Getty Images) Getty Images)

Hasselbaink added: "I think Van Dijk will stay as you can still get three good years out of him playing as a centre-back. As for Trent, it all depends on what he really wants and where he sees his career going. Do you only dream of being a Liverpool player or do you want to see how good you can be in a different country and culture?

"Regardless of whether he leaves, he’ll go down as a Liverpool legend. Ian Rush was viewed like that and he went and played for Juventus, so I don’t think Trent moving should take away from what he’s done at Anfield. He puts that Liverpool shirt on with pride and tries his hardest, so we shouldn’t criticise him if he goes to Madrid. For all we know, he might come back."

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