Liverpool and Mohamed Salah have parted ways on paper, with the Egyptian forward confirming in a social media video that the 2025-26 season marks the end of his nine-year association with the club. The confirmation was blunt and emotional in equal measure, the 33-year-old beginning his message with: “Hello everyone. Unfortunately, this day has come. This is the first part of my farewell tour.”
For the club that once turned down £150 million for his services back in 2023, the timing carries a particular sting. Salah will walk out of Anfield in the summer as a free agent, despite having signed a contract extension only last April that was supposed to keep him at Liverpool until 2027. That deal has now been cut short by mutual consent.
A relationship that had already publicly soured last December is now fully dissolved. Salah had accused manager Arne Slot of making him a scapegoat after a 3-3 draw at Leeds, telling interviewers he felt “thrown under the bus” by the club’s leadership. The tension never truly subsided, and the contract termination reflects what had become an untenable situation for both parties.
His playing record defies the noise. Across 435 appearances in a red shirt, Salah scored 255 goals, placing him third in Liverpool’s all-time scoring chart behind only Ian Rush and Roger Hunt. He also accumulated 281 goal contributions, the highest by any player at a single club in Premier League history. A three-time PFA Player of the Year, a Golden Boot winner on four separate occasions, a Champions League and two Premier League title winner — the list of honours is extraordinary.
Teammates reacted with predictable warmth. Andy Robertson called him “the greatest,” while Cody Gakpo described him as “a true legend.” Even Slot posted a photo of the two together on Instagram with the caption: “We had a good run.” The restraint in those four words says everything about the complexity of their working relationship.
On the transfer front, Al Ittihad have moved quickest. The Saudi club, which saw a £150 million approach rebuffed three years ago, now find themselves in a dramatically improved negotiating position — Salah costs nothing in transfer fees this time around. Sources suggest Al Qadsiah are the only other Saudi side with both the financial muscle and the ambition to compete for his signature, while Al Nassr, Al Hilal and Al Ahli are understood to have no interest.
MLS links have cooled considerably despite earlier chatter about Chicago Fire and San Diego FC. According to The Athletic, that route is increasingly unlikely. Salah’s agent Ramy Abbas has urged caution publicly, posting on social media that he didn’t know where his client would be playing next season, a warning to fans not to rush to conclusions.
What is certain is that the market for a free-agent Salah — still capable of elite-level football despite a quieter individual campaign — will be enormous. At 33, and with a World Cup summer approaching, his next chapter will define how history remembers his post-Liverpool years. His legacy at Anfield, though, is entirely secure.
The club confirmed the departure in a statement that described Salah’s time as “remarkable,” with a fuller farewell celebration promised for later in the year when the summer eventually arrives.
