Eight Daft Transfer Rejections: Did Liverpool Dodge a Bullet Letting Salah Walk for Nothing?

Back in the summer of 2023, Saudi Arabian outfit Al Ittihad came knocking with a preposterous £150m cheque for Mohamed Salah. Liverpool said thanks but no thanks. Now, as the Egyptian speedster prepares to leave Anfield on a free transfer this summer, the question hangs in the air: did the Reds get it spectacularly wrong?

The counter-argument writes itself. Without Salah's brilliance, Liverpool don't land the Premier League title last season. Full stop. Conversely, there's a nagging case for regret: Salah's been ordinary this term and is walking away without costing the club a penny, barely a year after signing a bumper new contract.

From Salah's perspective, however, the answer is crystal clear. He's gone on to obliterate Liverpool and Premier League records alike, cementing himself as the greatest winger the division has ever seen. His 2024/25 campaign alone secured that legacy. For someone who plainly treasures how he'll be remembered, that legacy is worth far more than a fat Middle Eastern paycheque.

Here's the real question: was a Premier League title worth sacrificing £150m for a 31-year-old? For my money, absolutely yes. The Reds didn't pocket anywhere near that sum in prize money, but the trophy's value transcends the cash. They've been vindicated.

That said, English football's annals are littered with transfer decisions so bewildering they make Liverpool's gamble look positively genius. Here are eight that'll make you wince.

Callum Hudson-Odoi (Chelsea to Bayern Munich, £70m)

Bayern genuinely offered Chelsea £70m for a lad who'd later join Nottingham Forest for £3m. Mental stuff, though Hudson-Odoi was genuinely promising back in 2020, so there's at least a shred of logic there.

Bayern wanted an initial loan with options attached; Chelsea held firm demanding either a permanent move or nothing. Hudson-Odoi eventually got his German experience on loan at Bayer Leverkusen in 2022/23, managing just a goal and assist across 21 appearances before returning to Stamford Bridge. He was subsequently flogged to Forest for pocket change.

Kylian Mbappe (PSG to Real Madrid, £137m)

Rejecting £137m for someone in their final contract year is mad. Rejecting it for someone obviously heading to the bidding club for nothing is absolutely barking.

Real Madrid's reported 2021 offer was spurned, probably through sheer stubbornness—which we'll admit, we rather respect. Mbappe did sign a fresh Paris deal in 2022, but when it expired, he departed in acrimonious fashion to join Madrid in one of football's most lucrative free-agent moves.

Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton to Al Nassr, £75m)

Brighton and Mitoma collectively telling Saudi Arabia's billions to jog on deserves applause, but the decision was still daft. Mitoma was invaluable to Brighton when Al Nassr and Bayern circled last January, yet rejecting £75m on deadline day felt dodgy then and looks worse now.

The Japanese flyer's been ravaged by injuries since—something nobody predicted—and his output has nosedived. Just two goals and one assist in 22 games this season. Brighton would bite your hand off for £75m today.

Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa to Arsenal, £60m)

You could argue Villa sold the wrong striker last winter. You could argue Arsenal were daft waiting until deadline day to come calling. You might also suggest that flogging Jhon Duran for £71m—a player who's since bounced around Al Nassr, Fenerbahce and Zenit—was genius, and that Villa couldn't afford losing both strikers.

Villa's determination to cash in on Duran meant they blanked Arsenal's approach, denying Watkins a move to his boyhood club. Duran's trajectory has stalled since leaving, but had Watkins departed instead, maybe he'd have flourished further under Unai Emery.

We'll never know. What we do know is Watkins isn't remotely close to the player he was when Arsenal offered that £60m.

Wayne Rooney (Manchester United to PSG, £135m)

It happened. Genuinely.

PSG, drunk on Qatari petrodollars post-takeover, reportedly lodged what was then a world-record bid for United's icon. In an act of remarkable restraint, United declined and Rooney remained at Old Trafford for another five years.

We'd have paid good money to see that unfold.

Richarlison (Everton to Barcelona, £85m)

The finest example of collective madness in modern football. What was Barcelona thinking? Probably nothing, knowing that era. And what possessed Everton to turn it down? Some sort of mutual PR stunt? Possibly.

Everton did eventually secure decent money from Tottenham for Richarlison after he banged in crucial goals keeping them up. It worked out reasonably in the end.

But seriously: what on earth were Barcelona playing at?

Anthony Gordon (Everton to Chelsea, £60m)

Gordon's since become an established Premier League winger at Newcastle, but back then nobody knew who was thicker: Chelsea for offering £60m or Everton for refusing it. Given the pattern, Everton surely take the crown.

Gordon eventually signed for Newcastle in January 2023 for £45m—a fee he's emphatically justified and arguably doubled in value. Newcastle are currently a shambles, so expect him to depart for similar money this summer. Maybe Chelsea were simply ahead of the curve for once.

Everton could've banked an extra £15m and, while Chelsea's bid would've been questionable, it might've worked out fine in hindsight.

Alexander Isak (Newcastle to Liverpool, £110m)

Newcastle ultimately pocketed a Premier League-record £125m for Isak on deadline day last summer, but the entire circus was an absolute shambles that wrecked their pre-season and ultimately their campaign.

Isak was always leaving. He couldn't return after everything that transpired. Newcastle should've taken their lumps early and properly prepared. Expect another tortuous summer when 2025/26 winds down. Yikes.