Mohamed Salah will leave Liverpool at the end of this season. After nine years, hundreds of goals, two Premier League titles, a Champions League, and records that may never be broken at Anfield, the Egyptian King is heading for the exit.
The announcement came in March, but the reality of it is only now starting to sink in as the final weeks of the season tick by. Salah will play his last game at Anfield against Brentford on May 24, the final day of the Premier League season. After that, one of the greatest chapters in Liverpool's modern history comes to a close.
How it ended
It did not end the way it should have. Salah's relationship with manager Arne Slot became strained over the course of this season, and the player made no secret of his frustration. He accused the club of making him a scapegoat and said publicly that his relationship with Slot was virtually nonexistent. Those are not the words of a man who felt appreciated.
And yet, even with all the noise, Salah never stopped performing. His goalscoring numbers this season have been exactly what you would expect from him — consistent, reliable, decisive. Whatever was happening off the pitch, on it he remained one of the best players in the Premier League.
But the trust was gone, and when trust goes between a player and a manager, there is rarely any way back. Liverpool made the call, Salah accepted it, and both will move on.
A legacy that will never fade
The numbers are almost absurd. Since joining from Roma in 2017, Salah has scored over 230 goals for Liverpool in all competitions, won the Premier League, the Champions League, the FA Cup and the League Cup, and became the club's all-time leading scorer. He set the record for the most goals in a 38-game Premier League season (32 in 2017-18) and was twice named PFA Players' Player of the Year.
There were moments when it looked like he might leave earlier — contract standoffs, links to Real Madrid — but he always stayed. Until now.
"I never imagined how deeply this club, this city, these people, would become part of my life," Salah said in his farewell message. "This club will always be my home."
What next?
His agent has been deliberately vague about the destination, saying simply that nobody yet knows where Salah will play next season. The Saudi Pro League remains the most likely landing spot — Al-Nassr, with Cristiano Ronaldo, has been mentioned — though at 33, Salah may also attract interest from clubs in Europe who believe he still has plenty left.
Wherever he ends up, Liverpool face the enormous challenge of replacing someone who has been not just their best player, but the best player in the league at various points over the last nine years. That is not a gap you fill in a single transfer window.
One of the greats. A proper legend. The end of an era at Anfield.
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