Mohamed Salah has admitted negotiations with Liverpool over a new contract were “not easy” and there was a genuine possibility he could have left Anfield this summer.

Alongside Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold, Salah’s expiring contract had dominated headlines all season. He ultimately inked a two-year extension last month, but only after several public displays of frustration towards his situation.

In November, Salah claimed he felt “more out than it” at Liverpool, and he went one step further in January by bluntly describing the current campaign as his last at Anfield.

Admitting the prospect of leaving this summer helped inspire his unbelievable form this campaign, Salah confessed to France Football that leaving Liverpool was definitely on the table when negotiations were slowing down.

“It was a possibility, yes,” he said of a summer exit. “It was actually a bit strange; we were doing really well this season, and there was this negotiation that wasn’t easy.

“In the end, all’s well that ends well: we’re champions, and I’m staying for two more seasons.”

Behind-the-scenes concerns have never spread on to the pitch. Salah has been one of Europe’s top players this season, racking up 33 goals and 23 assists in 49 games across all competitions for Arne Slot’s title-winners.

“You have to believe that in the end [the uncertainty] was a real asset because I had the best statistical season of my life,” Salah laughed.

“The possibility that it would be my last season here perhaps gave me the desire to make the most of it, and to give everything to win this title that I had promised. I had this state of mind: if the club doesn’t want to extend my contract, no worries, let’s finish as well as possible so that I leave through the front door.”