Mohamed Salah Leaves Liverpool: End of an Era After Nine Years and 232 Goals

April 24, 2026

Mohamed Salah with the Egyptian national team at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations final — Mohamed Salah with Egypt at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations final | Photo: HazemGM / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0

Mohamed Salah is leaving Liverpool at the end of this season. The club confirmed it. The player confirmed it. Nine years, 232 goals, three Premier League titles, one Champions League, one FA Cup, one League Cup. It is over. He is 33, out of contract, and will leave on a free transfer having reached an agreement with the club that closes one of the most remarkable chapters in Premier League history.

The departure has not been clean. Salah said earlier in the season that his relationship with Arne Slot was essentially nonexistent. He publicly accused the club of making him a scapegoat after Liverpool's bad start to the campaign, saying he felt "thrown under the bus" following a 3-3 draw at Leeds in December. His teammate Alexis Mac Allister described feeling "sad" about the exit while acknowledging there was "something between him and the club" that made a resolution impossible.

Where it started to go wrong

Salah wanted a new contract. Liverpool hesitated. By the time serious conversations began, the trust had already been damaged — by the public comments, by the contract standoff that lasted most of last year, and by the breakdown in his relationship with Slot. Contracts for players over 32 are always complicated, and Liverpool's hesitation was not entirely unreasonable. But the way it played out was not good for anyone.

He is still one of the best wide forwards in the Premier League when he is involved and motivated. His numbers this season have been decent even through the uncertainty. That makes it sadder in a way — he had enough left in the tank to keep contributing, and the situation still unravelled.

What Liverpool have to figure out now

Replacing Salah's output is genuinely difficult. Liverpool are looking at a Frenchman at RB Leipzig — Yan Diomande — as a forward target, and manager Slot is expected to be backed in the transfer market to reshape the squad. But there is no one player who replaces what Salah brought. His assists as much as his goals. His mentality on the big occasions. His ability to turn games in the final twenty minutes. You need two or three good additions to approximate that contribution.

The MLS is currently reported as Salah's most likely next destination — he is a free agent with significant commercial appeal and the American market suits that profile. Saudi Arabia has been mentioned. European clubs have enquired. At 33 on a free, he could have his pick of destinations.

The legacy

It would be a shame if the messy end overshadowed what came before it. Liverpool fans know what they got from Salah, and the numbers do not lie. 232 goals in the league alone. A Ballon d'Or candidate multiple times. The year he won the Golden Boot twice in a single season. He was worth the argument, whatever happened at the end.