Premier League

LIVERPOOL winger Mohamed Salah is earning over £1million-a-week, his lawyer and adviser has suggested.Salah, 31, penned a new three-year deal with the Reds last summer following extensive talks with club chiefs.
Mohamed Salah earns £1million-a-week, his adviser has claimedCredit: EPA
He had initially been expected to leave Anfield after the two parties failed to reach an agreement on wages.
A resolution was found at the end of the 2021-22 campaign and the winger has since picked up a reported £350,000-a-week from the club in wages alone.
However, new comments from Rammy Abbas, Salah’s lawyer and adviser, have shed further light on the saga.
Both Abbas and Salah contibuted to a Harvard Business School study based on the Liverpool star’s contract negotiations.
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At one point in the study, which has been seen by The Guardian, Abbas claimed that talks had “broken down”.
He also suggested that the club would have to match the winger’s substantial demands if they were to keep him.

The lawyer said: “We are still very far apart. Mohamed isn’t going to throw away his contract because of a 5% difference in what we are asking for and what they are willing to give – it is much more than that.”
He then revealed that his top client would rake in more than £1m-a-week, including money from high-profile endorsements from the likes of Adidas and Pepsi, if Liverpool were to meet the demands – which they eventually did.
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Abbas added: “If we find a way to get Liverpool to agree to the salary we have in mind and if Mohamed performs at a level he has achieved in the past seasons, we conservatively expect the total amount received by Mohamed and the image rights companies over the next few years from both his playing contract and his image rights contracts to be somewhere between €54m [£46.8m] and €62m [£53.7m] per year.”
Although the study does not outline exactly how much Salah’s current deal is worth, he is understood to be Liverpool’s highest earner.
Despite that, the Reds are at risk of losing the Egypt international in January amid mega-money interest from Saudi Arabia.
Al-Ittihad launched a last-minute £150million bid for him on transfer deadline day, but it was turned down.
Club chiefs are now said to be bracing themselves for another bid in the new year.
SunSport understands Salah would earn more than Cristiano Ronaldo if he were to move to Saudi – with CR7 raking in around £173m-a-year – which is over £3m-a-week. More

FACUNDO PELLISTRI has revealed he sends his girlfriend the same bizarre text before every match.The Manchester United winger explained that “she can’t respond” to the message or he will send it again.
Facundo Pellistri has revealed the text he sends his girlfriend before every matchCredit: Getty
Pellistri sends girlfriend Cami Garcia three heart emojisCredit: instagram / @facupellistri
Pellistri and his girlfriend Cami Garcia have a private relationship but have been known to share loved up snaps on social media.
The couple documented their travels this summer as they jetted off on holiday before the Uruguayan returned for pre-season.

Speaking this week, Pellistri has now revealed he sends her a text as part of his pre-match routine.
The 21-year-old has a number of matchday rituals, which includes sending Cami three heart emojis.
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Pellistri added that she cannot reply and if she does he will send the same message again.
Asked about his pre-match rituals, he explained: “I have a lot of them, I think all footballers have them.
“I put my two socks next to each other to see which one is longer, and I put the longer one on my right foot.
“I also send messages to my family and my girlfriend makes fun of me because I always send her the same messages: three heart emojis, then another.
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“And she can’t respond, if she does , I send the message back to her. That’s how I prepare for a match.”
Pellistri has made three substitute appearances for United so far this season.
The youngster also started their Champions League opener against Bayern Munich and the Carabao Cup win over Crystal Palace.
He will also be hoping to be involved against Palace at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon.
Pellistri has made five appearances for Manchester United this seasonCredit: Getty More

KLAS INGESSON became a lumberjack and TV host after retiring from football.The former Sweden international had a brief spell in the Premier League during the 1990s.
Klas Ingesson became a lumberjack and TV host after retiringCredit: Getty
Ingesson’s career saw him play in Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy and France, along with an eight-month stint at Sheffield Wednesday.
During his time in England, the midfielder scored twice in 18 appearances.
He later spent time managing Elfsborg in his native Sweden but it was his other two post-career jobs which shocked fans.
After hanging up his boots, Ingesson worked as a lumberjack and even hosted his own TV show.
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The ex-footballer presented Swedish programme Dangerous Leisures, which saw him take a look at some of the world’s deadliest jobs.
His show saw him explain these jobs as well as demonstrating how to do them safely, including working with chainsaws.
As for his career as a lumberjack, he told Fifa.com: “I don’t think there is a more manly profession than being a lumberjack.
“However, it was probably more so in the past. Now there are machines to everything and the job is not as heavy duty any more. Too bad in a way, as it is good for your health.”
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After working on Dangerous Leisures, Ingesson was sadly diagnosed with cancer in 2009 but would make a full recovery.
He then returned to football with Elfsborg, managing their under-19s before taking charge of the first-team.
Ingesson’s cancer would tragically return in 2013, though, and he passed away a year later aged just 46.
Ingesson had an eight-month spell in England with Sheffield WednesdayCredit: Getty More

GHEORGHE POPESCU played for Tottenham and Barcelona but also lived a double life as a spy.The former Romania international starred for some of Europe’s biggest clubs during his career.
Gheorghe Popescu played in the Premier League for TottenhamCredit: Times Newspapers Ltd
Popescu also had a double life as a spy during his playing careerCredit: Getty
However, it was his role as a government informant in his home country that is arguably the most striking detail from his playing days.
Popescu was first recruited by Romania’s secret police force, the Securitate, whilst playing for Universitatea Craiova in the 1980s under the former Communist regime.
At the time, U Craiova were the biggest club in Romania without an affiliation to a government body.
The Securitate spent much of the decade attempting to bring down Steaua Bucharest, who were backed by the army.
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Popescu even spent a season on loan at Steaua from U Craiova, winning a league and cup double with the club.
He has justified his actions by claimed he had signed a document in 1985 promising to ‘defend the national interests’ of the late dictator Ceausescu — who was executed on Christmas Day 1989.
According to The Guardian, Popescu’s spy past may have caused him some conflicts of interests during his career.
It did not limit his success on the pitch, though, as he was named Romanian footballer of the year six times.
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The defender also won 115 international caps, scoring 16 goals and representing Romania at three World Cups and two European Championships.
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As for his club career, Popescu won both the UEFA Cup and Cup Winners’ Cup, having spells with PSV and Galatasaray as well as his stints at Barcelona and Spurs.
During his sole season in England with Spurs, he made 23 Premier League appearances, scoring three goals.
Popescu later played in Italy and Germany either side of a return to Romania with Dinamo Bucharest before retiring in 2003.
He is now the president of reigning Romanian champions Farul Constanta, who are owned and managed by Gheorghe Hagi.
In 2021, the club merged with Viitorul, who had been founded by Hagi, who is also Popescu’s brother-in-law. More

RYAN GARRY’S only Premier League appearance came at the start of Arsenal’s 49-match unbeaten streak.The Gunners academy graduate was later forced to retire aged just 27.
Ryan Garry made one Premier League appearance for ArsenalCredit: Getty
Garry came through the Arsenal youth system and won the FA Youth Cup in 2001 before being promoted to the first-team.
The centre-back went on to make two senior appearances under Arsene Wenger, with one of those coming in the league.
Garry played the full 90 minutes as Arsenal thrashed Southampton 6-1 at Highbury in May 2003.
Reflecting on his debut in 2018, he told Planet Football: “I remember going to the hotel before the game; the pre-match meeting was based around a player I would be marking, a French winger named Fabrice Fernandes.
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“He was their best player and I was going to have to stop him.”
A hat-trick from Jermaine Pennant, two goals from Robert Pires and a Thierry Henry strike brushed the Saints aside to kickstart an historic run for the Gunners.
Arsenal would go on to avoid defeat in their next 48 matches, including the entirety of their Invincible 2003/04 title triumph.
Garry would never play for the club again, though, learning that summer that he had been playing with multiple stress fractures to both shins.
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He left the club on a free transfer in 2007, joining Bournemouth and ending his eight-year spell with Arsenal.
His injury woes continued, however, and he ultimately hung up his boots in 2011 aged just 27.
Garry immediately transitioned into coaching, first with the Cherries’ reserves side.
He has since worked with both Arsenal and England’s youth set-ups and is currently part of the Young Lions’ coaching team.
Still only 39, Garry was appointed England under-18s manager in August, with Premier League icon Emile Heskey serving as one of his assistants.
Garry was forced to retire aged 27 due to injuriesCredit: Getty
Garry has since coached both Arsenal and England’s youth teamsCredit: Getty More

MAURICIO POCHETTINO has told Chelsea star Noni Madueke and his young team-mates to buck their ideas up off the pitch.A video of Madueke, 21, partying at a Mayfair nightclub emerged after the international break, when the winger had missed Chelsea’s game at Bournemouth due to a muscle injury.
Mauricio Pochettino issued a warning to his playersCredit: Getty
Noni Madueke has not featured for Chelsea since September 2Credit: Getty
Madueke was left out of the squad last week’s Carabao Cup win over Brighton, with Pochettino saying it was not due to an injury but his “choice”.
And the Argentine has now spoken with Madueke about the footage of him on a night out and warned that he and other young stars need to change their behaviour.

Pochettino said: “It is clear. This video, we were talking about that with him.
“It is a thing that we need to avoid. All the players need to know that when we are a player of Chelsea to try to avoid these things.
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“It wasn’t a big issue but we always need to avoid these types of situations.
“It is really clear that he needs to avoid it.
“But he is recovering from the national team and we will see if he is fit and can be involved and selected.
“But we talk about what you are asking me because it is a thing that the young players need to improve on.
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“Not only him. Many, many players need to be professional and to have respect because of the badge we have here.”
Unruly youngsters could prove a problem for Pochettino given Chelsea’s plan to only buy younger players under the ownership of Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital.
The average age of Chelsea’s senior squad is just above 23, meaning the former Spurs manager will want to get a grip of any unprofessional behaviour quickly.
Madueke, who arrived from PSV Eindhoven in January for £35million, has two goals in 15 appearances for Chelsea since joining.
Despite Madueke’s indiscipline, Pochettino has been impressed with his efforts to force his way back into the side following injury.
He added: “In my opinion he is working really hard to get the levels that we want after his injury.
“He came back from the international break maybe 10 or 12 days ago.
“Now he feels well and he is recovered. Now he is trying to get fit to be on the same level as the team.”
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Pochettino is considering recalling Madueke to the squad for Monday’s west London derby against Fulham.
Midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka, who suffered a knee injury following a flying start to the season, has returned to training and is expected to be on the bench at Craven Cottage.
Madueke, 21, could return to action this weekendCredit: Getty More