Soccer Football - LaLiga - Real Madrid v Celta Vigo - Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain - December 7, 2025 Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior during the warm up before the match REUTERS/Ana Beltran
Dec 10 (Reuters) - Liverpool's Mohamed Salah is not a good fit for the Saudi Pro League and clubs should target younger players like Real Madrid's Vinicius Jr, Al-Kholood chairman Ben Harburg said on Wednesday.
Salah's future at Anfield is in doubt after he publicly accused the club of throwing him "under the bus" during an interview when he was benched by manager Arne Slot.
The 33-year-old was then dropped from the squad that travelled to play Inter Milan in the Champions League this week, fuelling speculation of a potential transfer to the lucrative Saudi Pro League.
Salah has previously been a target for Saudi Arabia's glamour clubs with Liverpool rejecting a 150 million pound ($200 million) offer for the winger in 2023, according to media reports at the time.
Salah previously said he had 'serious' negotiations with Saudi Pro League officials before extending his contract at Liverpool and Harburg, whose Al-Kholood side are 11th in the 18-team Pro League table, said Saudi clubs should be wary of approaching the Egyptian again.
'APPREHENSION' AROUND POTENTIAL SALAH TRANSFER
"There's a narrative around him that they asked him to come before and he rejected us. These are not people that like to be spurned and are going to come back around the second time," Harburg said at the World Football Summit in Riyadh.
"So I do think that there's already, even amongst the public, much more apprehension around his coming into the league. He's 33 years old, he got paid a boatload (at Liverpool)... and has underperformed massively since then."
Salah, the Premier League's top scorer last season, has only five goals and three assists in all competitions this campaign, with champions Liverpool languishing in 10th in the standings.
'I'D TAKE VINICIUS'
"I'm sure some people like his star power, he's from the region, but my sentiment is that he is not a fit for our league. If it were between him and Vinicius, I'd take Vinicius," Harburg added.
"I think Vinicius should come here and thrive.
"I actually think it might end up being a better environment for someone like him. But I'm hoping we go after those 25-year-old next wave players rather than guys like Salah, who definitely this would be the last stop of his career."
($1 = 0.7497 pounds)
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in BengaluruEditing by Toby Davis)
