Mohamed Salah

In June 2022, Mohamed Salah, one of the world’s best soccer players, and his lawyer and advisor Ramy Abbas Issa were in ongoing discussions with top English Premier League club Liverpool FC about a new playing contract for Salah. Arguably the Arab world’s biggest sports superstar, Salah’s contract was due to expire next summer and so this was the time to try to secure a big contract from his current club. But renegotiating with Liverpool had been a lengthy and increasingly tense process, and the two parties were still far apart. Salah for the first time had to face the possibility that his long-term future might be with another club. Were Abbas and Salah right to continue to push Liverpool for a better deal—even if Salah, who would turn 30 in a few days, already was one of the highest-paid players in the world? What was the right mix between fixed and variable compensation—specifically, was it wise for Abbas and Salah to entertain Liverpool’s push for a higher share of performance-related compensation? And could and should Abbas and Salah bring his image rights to the table to try to break the deadlock?