Mo Salah was at centre of transfer drama as FIFA intervened to investigate move

Mohamed Salah is the subject of interest from the Saudi Pro League, but this is not the first time the Liverpool star has been involved in a controversial transfer saga

Jurgen Klopp dismisses Mohamed Salah transfer talk

Mohamed Salah is currently at the centre of a major transfer saga, with Saudi Pro League side Al-Ittihad attempting to buy him from Liverpool.

The Reds have been adamant that their star attacker will not be departing Anfield, turning down a £150million bid for him on deadline day. But Ittihad have not been deterred and are sizing up an increased offer of up to £200m.

The saga is set to drag on until the end of Thursday, when the Saudi Arabian transfer window finally closes for the summer. The storm around Salah’s future is nothing new though, with the Egyptian having been part of a similar saga back when he left Chelsea for Roma.

That transfer came in the summer window of 2015, with Salah moving to the Stadio Olimpico on a season-long loan deal. But the deal prompted an investigation by FIFA, with Fiorentina lodging a complaint against the Blues.

Salah had spent the second-half of the 2014/2015 campaign on loan at La Viola and they were under the impression they had a clause that would see the attacker return to them for the 2015/2016 season.

It was a clause Fiorentina claimed they had activated, though Chelsea were not under the same impression. Instead, they sent him out to Roma, including a clause with an option for the Serie A side to buy him.

Fiorentina were left furious and lodged a complaint with FIFA, alleging a breach of contract and seeking £25.6m in compensation. The world governing body immediately launched an investigation into the matter, though a year later they confirmed Fiorentina’s complaint had been thrown out.

“We can confirm that the dispute resolution chamber (DRC) dealt with the dispute opposing the Italian club, ACF Fiorentina, to the player, Mohamed Salah Ghaly, and the English club, Chelsea FC,” said a FIFA spokesman.

“The findings of the relevant decision, without grounds, have been communicated to the parties on June 8, 2016. The claim of the Italian club was rejected. Since the decision is not yet final and binding, we are not in a position to comment on it any further.”

Fiorentina appealed FIFA’s decision, taking their case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. A year after FIFA’s decision, CAS handed down their own judgement, like FIFA siding with Chelsea.

“CAS has dismissed the appeal and confirmed the decision issued by the FIFA dispute resolution chamber on May 26, 2016 (FIFA DRC) in which Fiorentina’s claim for compensation of Euros 32 million was rejected,” a statement from the court read.

“The CAS panel found that the player did not breach the employment agreement by returning to Chelsea FC after June 30, 2015 and that Chelsea FC did not induce the player to terminate the employment agreement without just cause. Accordingly, it dismissed the appeal and confirmed the FIFA DRC decision.”

Chelsea were adamant through the process that they had done nothing wrong. The Premier League side insisted after the case was closed by CAS that Fiorentina had been acting in “bad faith”.

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“Chelsea’s position throughout this case was that Fiorentina had acted in bad faith in bringing a claim which was totally unfounded. We are pleased that the CAS panel came to the same conclusion, with Fiorentina’s case rejected in full and costs awarded to Chelsea and the player,” a statement read.

“We look forward to the full decision being published so that everyone can see the lengths that Fiorentina were prepared to go to in order to extort large sums of money from Chelsea and the player.”

Salah would enjoy a successful season at Roma, scoring 19 goals in all competitions to help the club finish second in Serie A. That success earned him a £43m move to Liverpool in the summer of 2017.

At the time, that was the highest fee Roma had every received from a player’s sale. He has since gone on to become a legend at Anfield, winning the Premier League and Champions League, but he could end his time on Merseyside at the centre of another controversial move.

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