Former Roma sporting director Monchi has admitted he was powerless to stop Mohamed Salah from leaving for Liverpool following his arrival in the summer of 2017.
However, the Spanish talent-spotter revealed that he was able to secure a higher transfer fee for the Egypt captain.
Monchi was brought to Rome by Roma owner James Pallotta, and his appointment at Stadio Olimpico was widely praised, given the reputation he had built during his time at Sevilla.
By the time Monchi joined the club, Salah had already set his sights on a move to Anfield, where he has since become one of the Premier League’s greatest players.
Monchi has now shared details of the negotiation process with Liverpool, insisting that he managed to get the best possible price for Salah, who joined the Reds in June 2017 for a then club-record fee of £36.9 million.
“It was a magnificent year [in 2018]” Monchi told Flashscore.
“I insist, after having to sell Salah, [Antonio] Rudiger, and [Leandro] Paredes, that is to say, having to make very important sales, to finish third and semi-finalist in the Champions League, I think it was a magnificent success.
“[Selling Salah] was necessary. When I arrived there, Salah was practically sold for 33million euros plus a three million bonus. In the end, he was sold for 55, but there was already a commitment with the player.
“He wanted to leave and the only thing we could do was try to improve the price.
“You have to understand that moment, the sale of Salah was before [Ousmane] Dembele (went to Barcelona for over £100m), before the whole explosion of the football market with crazy sales.
“And, well, I insist, I practically had an agreement between Roma and Liverpool.
“What we did was to push to get as much as possible, because the player already knew he wanted to leave.”
Salah is currently third on Liverpool’s all-time scorers list, with 248 goals in 411 appearances.
He and the Reds will be aiming to return to winning ways on Sunday when Manchester United visit Anfield.
The Egyptian forward has found the net 11 times in his last 13 Premier League appearances against United.
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