In an official statement on the Liverpool website, the 33-year-old is said to have ‘reached an agreement’ with the club that sees his departure after nine years in a red shirt.
The Egyptian player is one of the most prolific forwards of the 2010s and 2020s, scoring 191 goals and providing 93 assists in 323 Premier League appearances. Last season, he majorly contributed to Liverpool’s title win with a staggering 29 goals and 18 assists in 38 appearances. He has won the Premier League Golden Boot four times.
According to Alex Crook and Ben Jacobs of talkSPORT, Salah will leave Liverpool on a free transfer, walking away from the last year of his reported £400,000 a week contract.
The forward has also announced his departure through his official social media channels, which has met with widespread tributes from fans and the wider football community. His name, #YNWA and the phrase ‘Egyptian King’ are the top three trending topics on X within the United Kingdom.
Despite the outpouring of emotions online, the news will not come as a huge shock to the footballing world. This season has been tumultuous for Salah, with injuries and a spell in the African Cup of Nations to contend with.
Despite the outpouring of emotions online, the news will not come as a huge shock to the footballing world.
The tensions reached its peak in December, when he publicly revealed that his relationship with Liverpool manager Arne Slot had broken down and accused the club of “throwing him under the bus.”
This news arrives within a rocky season for Liverpool as a whole, with their team unable to defend their Premier League title from the previous year. The official statement reads that Salah wished to notify the supporters as soon as possible of his departure to avoid any speculation, but it feels as though yet another spanner has been thrown in the works for the Reds.
Liverpool still have a fighting chance of finishing in the top four of the league, face Manchester City in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup and Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
with the pressure mounting on Merseyside, will anyone be in the mood to cheer?
Salah hopes to ‘fully celebrate his legacy and achievements for Liverpool’ later in the year, but with the pressure mounting on Merseyside, will anyone be in the mood to cheer?