Salah could form devastating Benzema partnership - but would become Firmino's rival

The Liverpool superstar is the subject of a £150million offer from league champions Al Ittihad, with talkSPORT understanding another eye-watering bid is on the way.

Jurgen Klopp is adamant his most loyal goalscorer isn't for sale, but money talks, and Al Ittihad are a hard team to say no to.

Just ask his former teammate Fabinho, and World Cup winner N'Golo Kante, while even Portuguese superstar Jota couldn't reject their advances despite his career being in its infancy.

Before all of them was arguably the biggest deal in the league's history, eclipsing even Cristiano Ronaldo to Al Nassr in December.

And it's one that Salah might not be too pleased with, considering his history.

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Four-time Champions League winner Karim Benzema opted for Al Ittihad less than a year on from his Ballon d'Or win, paving the way for others at the peak of their powers to make the jump.

Salah may well be one of them at 31 years of age, but initially he might be sick of the sight of his potential new teammate.

The Egyptian has faced the French great on seven occasions, and hasn't won a single match.

In fact, he has just a single draw in that spell, coming during a Champions League quarter-final tie for Real in 2021.

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An injury-hit Liverpool were no match on that occasion, but it was the other ties that left some of the biggest scars during Salah's career.

The 2018 Champions League final saw the forward leave the pitch in tears after a tangle with Sergio Ramos, while Karim Benzema triggered the 3-1 win by capitalising on a nightmare-inducing Loris Karius error.

In 2022, Salah lost his second Champions League final, again at the hands of Benzema as Thibaut Corutois shut him down in a 1-0 win in Paris.

And last year things were just as humbling in the Round of 16.

Salah and Dariwn Nunez had Liverpool 2-0 up inside 14 minutes during the first leg, but ended up collapsing to an unrecoverable 5-2 home loss.

So if putting his arm on Benzema's shoulder for pre-kick-off photos isn't a weird enough prospect for Salah, what awaits him in the Jeddah derby will be.

The anti-Benzema for Salah's career, Roberto Firmino, will be lining up on the other side for Al Ahli, having helped his former wingman at Anfield to one of England's most legendary careers.

The two won every trophy possible in a trident with Sadio Mane at Liverpool, where their often unplayable front three was able to function due to Firmino's magic.

And Salah was effusive in his praise of the Brazilian following his departure this year, showing just how strange it would be to face-off against him.

"I think it's his ability to do everything in the game and also to sacrifice himself for the team," Salah said.

"He just plays for the team. He doesn't really care about scoring that much, he just wants to enjoy his game and just play football and wants the team to win.

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"I think he's one of the ones who has been loved the most because everybody likes him. He's really calm, always smiling. And as I said before, when you see someone sacrifice himself for the team, you see everybody loves him here."

The Jeddah derby is a 70-year affair that's known to be one of the most competitive in Saudi, meaning that Salah may have to quickly adjust to who's his friend and who is his foe if he seals a move to the Middle East.