Werner admits Liverpool were close to giving up on Salah and Van Dijk: The chasm is too big

Posted Friday, November 21, 2025 by tribalfootball

Liverpool chairman Tom Werner has admitted the club were prepared to let Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk leave for free as their contracts started to wind down.

The Reds find themselves eight points behind Arsenal after just 11 games, having lost seven of their last 10 games in all competitions in what has been a rough start to the season for manager Arne Slot.0

However, the season could be a lot worse as the likes of Salah and Van Dijk could have left for free at the end of their contracts in the summer window, leaving Liverpool exposed.0

Werner has now revealed how close Fenway Sports Group came to giving up on the deal, which are paramount to the Reds’ success. 0

Speaking to The Athletic in an extract from Walk On: Inside Arne Slot's Liverpool by James Pearce, Werner spoke honestly about what happened behind the scenes as he worked with sporting director Richard Hughes.0

“My impatience is balanced by his patience. I'd call him frequently and say, "Richard, how are things going with Mo Salah and his contract?", and he would say, "Tom, it will all be good in the end.0

“I think all the agents who deal with him would say that he conducts business in a very respectful way. He has a plan and he executes it.'0

“We were delighted that the new contracts for Mo and Virgil were sorted. But you know what? If Richard had called and said, "The chasm is too big", I would have respected that too. John, Mike and I try to find people who are excellent at their jobs and let them do their jobs.0

“We don't meddle, we just provide support and advice from our point of view. There's a lot of trust. I can't say enough wonderful things about Richard.”0

The summer saw the departure of Trent Alexander-Arnold and if the club did lose both Van Dijk and Salah, Liverpool could be in a much worse position than 8th this season as the spine of the team disappeared. 0