Mo Salah leaves Liverpool — A Premier League legend, the Egyptian King and much more

Change of guard. There is always a lot that follows those three words: a spark that turns into a fire, silence becoming a low grumble, and friction ending in fracture.

On Tuesday, Liverpool had a moment along similar lines. Mohamed Salah, its greatest player in the last decade, announced that he would wear the club’s crest for the final time at the end of this season.

Salah spent seven of his nine seasons at the club under manager Jurgen Klopp, winning every European trophy. As cracks appeared in his relationship with Arne Slot, the current manager, it was the club legend who chose to walk away from Anfield.

“Unfortunately, the day has come. This is the first part of my farewell. I will be leaving Liverpool at the end of the season,” Salah said in a video message.

“Leaving is never easy. You gave me the best time of my life. I will always be one of you. This club will always be my home, for my family and me. Thank you for everything. Because of all of you, I will never walk alone.”

After nine trophies, over 250 goals and 430 appearances, Salah remains Liverpool’s third-highest goalscorer and one of the greatest to wear the club’s badge. But he has always been more than that.

Life is about second chances

Salah’s tryst with the Premier League began with Chelsea in 2014, when he was prized away despite Liverpool’s strong interest. His return of two goals and three assists in 19 matches across two seasons saw him move to Roma, initially on loan before a permanent move.

His journey in England seemed over. But Liverpool chose to give the forward a second chance, breaking the bank to make him the club’s then-record transfer and its first Egyptian signing.

Neither the club nor the player would look back on that deal with any regret.

Klopp was rebuilding. His team had lost the Europa League final a year earlier, and his relationship with winger Philippe Coutinho had turned sour. Salah was the antidote: a winger with raw pace and a proven goalscoring record, having registered 34 goals and 21 assists in those two seasons.

He tormented goalkeepers, surged down the wings and scored at will. Klopp was smiling, and so was Anfield.

Club legend for a reason: In the Premier League, his 281 goal contributions — 189 goals and 92 assists — is the biggest for one club in Premier League history.
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He found the net 44 times in his debut season, 32 of which came in the Premier League, earning the Golden Boot as he broke records set by Robbie Fowler and Fernando Torres.

Liverpool reached the Champions League final for the first time in a decade, and Salah won the PFA Player of the Year.

A legacy greater than that of Gerrard?

Under Klopp, he became central to Liverpool’s high-octane football, with Sadio Mane on the left and Roberto Firmino through the centre.

The trio scored 338 goals in 197 games, with Salah leading in goals and assists:

• Salah – G: 156, A: 58
• Mane – G: 107, A: 50
• Firmino – G: 75, A: 31

Salah became the perfect blend of ruthlessness and selflessness in the final third, scoring 255 goals and assisting 122 more. In an era where data, iPads and xG dominate football, Salah reinforced the only rule that mattered: score and win.

Terrific three: Mohamed Salah (right) became the heart of one of Liverpool’s greatest attacking trio, Sadio Mane, (left) and Roberto Firmino.
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In the Premier League, his 281 goal contributions, 189 goals and 92 assists, are the highest for a single club, five more than Wayne Rooney for Manchester United.

His lowest goals tally in a full season before this campaign came in 2019-20, when he scored 23 as Liverpool won the title for the first time in 30 years.

“We are witnessing the start of greatness,” Liverpool’s former captain Steven Gerrard had said after Salah’s debut season. Almost a decade later, the Egyptian has more than lived up to that prediction.

Comparisons with Gerrard are misplaced, given they played in different roles. Yet Salah’s trophy haul during his prime is more decorated than that of the former England captain.

Gerrard, as captain, won the UEFA Champions League in 2004-05, followed by the FA Cup and UEFA Super Cup the next season, and later lifted the League Cup in 2012.

Salah, on the other hand, won two Premier League titles, including the club’s first in 30 years, in a season where he had his lowest full-season tally of 23 goals. He also reached consecutive Champions League finals, redeeming himself in 2019 to lift the trophy.

Another jewel in the crown: Mohamed Salah reached the UEFA Champions League in his first two seasons at Liverpool, lifting the trophy in the 2018-19 season.
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Liverpool won nearly 64 per cent of its Premier League matches with Salah in the side, compared to 50.6 per cent with Gerrard. Across competitions, the figures stand at 62.7 against 55.5, again in favour of the forward.

Gerrard was born in Merseyside and rose as one of Liverpool’s own. Salah, on the other hand, became one, earning a place among the city’s murals and standing alongside, if not ahead of, the England legend in terms of legacy.

A waning romance and the reasons behind it

The thing about romance is the grey sky that often follows, moments when holding on replaces momentum. At Liverpool, Salah had few such phases under Klopp, but they became more frequent under Slot.

The nadir came after Liverpool’s 3-3 draw with Brighton and Hove Albion. Salah, left on the bench, later told reporters that he was being thrown “under the bus” by the manager. It was a rare glimpse of a player struggling to reconcile with diminishing influence.

Separate paths: Mohamed Salah fell out with manager Arne Slot in the middle of the 2025-26 season, but eventually mended the relationship.
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“I said many times before that I had a good relationship with the manager, and all of a sudden we don’t have any relationship. I don’t know why, but it seems to me that someone doesn’t want me at the club,” Salah said.

“It feels like the club has thrown me under the bus. That is how I am feeling. I think it is very clear that someone wanted me to take all of the blame.”

Slot’s arrival marked a shift in Salah’s role. In a 4-2-3-1 system, as opposed to Klopp’s 4-3-3, he was asked to operate with more tactical complexity than a winger.

Salah did mend bridges with Slot, returning to the field against Brighton in a 2-0 win before departing for the African Cup of Nations. But the transition from winger to wide midfielder was not one he fully internalised.

Off the field, the untimely death of teammate Diogo Jota deeply affected Salah, who dedicated many of his subsequent goals to the Portuguese forward, often replicating Jota’s celebration.

Salah leaves for the March international window with his exit confirmed. When he returns to the Kop, two defining weeks await, which could yet add more silverware to his legacy.

See You Again: An emotional Mohamed Salah applauds Liverpool fans with teary eyes as they sing Diogo Jota’s song at full time during a Premier League match.
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Liverpool faces quarterfinals in both the FA Cup against Manchester City and the UEFA Champions League against Paris Saint-Germain next month, offering Salah a chance to extend his impact.

Irrespective of the outcomes, Salah has already won everything at Liverpool: the heart of the Kop, the city of Merseyside, and millions of fans around the world.

Mohamed Salah arrived at Liverpool as a 25-year-old forward looking to rebuild his career in England. Nine years later, he leaves as the ‘Egyptian King’ who came, saw, and conquered.

Published on Mar 25, 2026