Should Liverpool Allow Mohamed Salah To Play At The 2020 Olympics
Mohamed Salah has become a superstar at Liverpool and has become a vital player in the chase for the Red’s first Premier League title. The last time they were able to achieve this was in 1989-90 under Kenny Dalglish and this season it is almost a certainty that they will be crowned champions with the points lead they have amassed. To be able to achieve this will mean that Salah will have to play lots of matches this campaign so sending him to play for the under 23 Egypt Olympics team is not something that is appealing to manager JurgenKlopp.
Egypt has recently announced their provisional squad of 50 for the 2020 Olympics and has included Mohamed Salah. It should come as no surprise considering he is by far their best player but they do not hold all the cards as the Red are not obligated to release their star forward. The head coach ShawkyGharib would love nothing more than to be able to include Salah in his team as one of the three over 23-year-old players that they are allowed.
The Olympics opening ceremony takes place at the recently opened New National Stadium in Tokyo on the 24th of July and runs until the 9th of August. After a busy season competing in every competition throughout the season, it is understandable why JurgenKlopp is not keen to allow his star player to go. It is the time of year that the player should be recovering from the previous campaign and risks exhaustion or injury by playing at the Olympics.
If Klopp does allow Salah to take part in the 2020 Olympics if will come at a huge cost for the team. It will mean that the forward will not be able to take part in any pre-season along with missing the start of the EPL 20/21 campaign. The good news for Liverpool fans is that FIFA has announced that the decision of the player leaving is down to the club and they can not be forced to allow him to go.
It would not be the first time that a top-flight Premier League club has refused to allow their player to leave for Olympic duty. Manchester City in the previous Olympics held in 2016 would not allow KelechiIheanacho to attend the event.
So far this season, Liverpool have been outstanding and are certain to pick up silverware at the end of the campaign with the EPL title heading to Anfield. They did, however, suffer a recent setback in their pursuit to retain the Champions League with Atletico Madrid beating them at their home ground in the first leg. Liverpool has made Anfield a fortress, so with the fans fully behind their team, it should help to increase their chances of overcoming this setback.
If Liverpool does go all the way once again in the Champions League along with progressing in the FA Cup, it will mean that Salah will have played a massive amount of games, so I can not see them letting him go but if you think differently let me know in the comments below.
