- James Pallotta claims John W. Henry was left ‘bitching’ after Mohamed Salah sale
- The Roma president said Liverpool owner overpaid for the Egyptian last summer
- Pallotta also revealed he wouldn’t be in attendance at Anfield on Tuesday night
- The superstitious owner will instead watch the game in a restaurant in London
Roma president James Pallotta has claimed that compatriot and Liverpool owner John W. Henry was left ‘bitching’ following the sale of Mohamed Salah last summer.
The Reds purchased the PFA Player of the Year for an ‘unbelievable bargain’ of £34.4m in June, where the Egyptian talisman has gone on to score a record 31 Premier League goals and has provided nine assists for his Liverpool team-mates.
However, Pallotta says his fellow American felt he overpaid for Salah before the Roma chief comically tried to soften the blow by ‘buying him lunch’.
Roma president claims Liverpool owner was ‘bitching’ after overpaying for Mohamed Salah
James Pallotta (L) reveals that John W. Henry (R) felt he paid too much for Salah last summer
Speaking to ESPN, Pallotta said: ‘He was sort of bitching a little about, “Did we overpay? I think we overpaid.” And I said, “I’ll buy you lunch”.’
The two US owners’ teams face each other in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final on Tuesday evening at Anfield as they battle for a place in the final.
Despite the huge occasion, Pallotta revealed he can’t bring himself to watch the game in person and will instead watch the game inside an Italian restaurant in London with Franco Baldini.
The Egyptian talisman has scored nine in 12 Champions League games this season
‘I have my superstitions. I mean I didn’t go to the last game in this round in Barcelona and then went to the home game and so I kind of keep doing those same things. It’s just always stuff like that happens that I have.
‘If I go back to the days playing basketball, from high school and on, I would put my left sock on first then my right, my left shoe then my right, tie my left shoe then tie my right. If my right shoe came undone, then I’d have to go back and untie my left, retie that one, do the right, so you know, I’ve got these little quirks.
‘There’s an Italian restaurant in London that Franco Baldini and a few of us have watched games in the past so we’ll be upstairs in one of those.’
Salah is likely to start against his former employers at Anfield on Tuesday evening.
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