Mo Salah put paid to his Liverpool future. Where to go next?
After several games in a row without making Liverpool’s starting XI, Mohamed Salah has given a surprisingly emotional interview, accusing Arne Slot and the club of showing a lack of respect for what he has delivered over recent years.
Those explosive comments about his supposed untouchable status in the starting line up landed at a tricky moment in Slot’s reign, but the response from the head coach and the club was swift. Salah was left out of the squad for the Champions League match against Inter Milan and, in all likelihood, will not be involved in the upcoming Premier League fixtures.
Mohamed Salah to join a club after the January transfer window
All this brings us to an important question: where will one of the Premier League legends continue is career. Because if the Egyptian does not apologise and accept a bench role at least during periods when he is not at his best, he may never play for the Reds again.
The winter transfer window is just around the corner, and a move could be wrapped up sooner rather than later.
Salah’s downturn started at the end of last season
Before weighing up potential destinations for Mohamed, it is worth asking whether his level has genuinely dipped, or whether he simply no longer fits the Slot’s system.
The contrast with last season is stark. Salah has scored only four goals and made two assists in 14 matches. The drop is also visible in the Egyptian’s trademark one on one ability, with his successful dribble rate down to 9.1% compared to 42.3% in the 2024/25 season.
To be fair, the winger’s decline began in late spring 2025, but with a brilliant first half of the campaign and the feel good factor around Liverpool, Salah fading into the background did not stand out as sharply. He finished the league season as top scorer with 29 goals and top assistant (18), becoming the first Premier League player to win both individual awards in the same season.
Trent Alexander-Arnold’s move to Real Madrid has not helped either. For years, the Salah and Alexander-Arnold connection was a cornerstone of Jürgen Klopp’s attacking framework. Salah ranked second for Premier League assists received from Alexander-Arnold during the full back’s Liverpool career (10), and in the 2024/25 season Alexander-Arnold played 147 line breaking passes into Salah. The only remotely similar link up was at Manchester City, where Joško Gvardiol played 108 passes into Jérémy Doku.
There is also an unfashionable view that Salah has simply had his fill. He has won everything with Liverpool, cementing his status as a Premier League legend, and at 33, sustaining week to week dominance in England is getting harder.
Is Slot to blame?
Salah’s form cannot be separated from the team’s dip. After a superb 2024/25 season, Liverpool are only a distant echo of their last year’s version.
A big factor has been an overcooked summer in the transfer market. The saga around Alexander Isak, plus the signing of Florian Wirtz despite already having Cody Gakpo and Salah, left Liverpool trying to squeeze an awkward mix of profiles into a starting XI. Even Carlo Ancelotti would not instantly balance that kind of blend, and until this summer Slot was largely working with a ready made squad inherited from Klopp.
Poor league results have already sparked talk about Slot’s position. Liverpool sit 10th in the Premier League with six defeats and 23 points from 15 games. They are struggling with cohesion and a clear attacking structure. In that environment, Salah suffers again, because he has not yet built chemistry with any of the new attacking teammates.
Salah’s next club as bookmakers lean towards Saudi Arabia
Salah’s current contract, renewed in April 2025, runs until the end of June 2027. Transfermarkt values the winger at 30 million euros, but after Liverpool’s summer spending, the club are unlikely to let a player of his stature go for a modest fee.
Salah has not spoken directly about wanting to leave, and the whole outburst felt like an attempt to influence Slot’s selection calls or apply pressure on the club if it came to a decision on the Dutchman. However, the Liverpool’s bosses have anonymously supported the head, making it clear that there are no untouchables. That means Mohamed may need to start thinking about leaving as he definitely has some options.
Mohamed Salah’s next club
|
Club |
Transfer odds |
|
Al-Hilal |
7/2
|
|
Al-Ittihad |
10/1
|
|
Napoli |
16/1
|
|
Paris Saint-Germain |
16/1
|
Saudi Arabia
One of the most appealing outcomes for both sides. Saudi Pro League clubs can pay far more for Salah than almost any European team, allowing Liverpool to patch holes in the budget. The league would also add another global icon, boosting the image of Saudi football.
Whether Salah fits every top Saudi club is a separate question. Al-Hilal, Al-Ittihad, or Al-Qadsiah could integrate him into their model without too much disruption, but Al-Nassr could face a balancing act given they already have Kingsley Coman, Sadio Mané, and João Félix steering the attack.
Major League Soccer
Despite attempts to move away from the retirement league label, the United States remains a tempting destination for older stars. On the other hand, Salah has never spoken about a desire to play in Major League Soccer and seems determined to prove Liverpool wrong for benching him, and that is harder to do from across the Atlantic.
Moves to Inter Miami CF or LA Galaxy look logical on paper, given their financial muscle to make a deal happen.
A European club
Salah is unlikely to be short of offers, or at the very least, informal approaches from Europe’s elite. Paris Saint-Germain are the usual name in these conversations, and a couple of years ago it would have felt easy to imagine. In the current reality, though, Luis Enrique would almost certainly block it, with wide options like Ousmane Dembélé and Désiré Doué already in the squad, both younger and in better form.
A return to Serie A should not be dismissed either, given Salah made his name in Italy with AS Roma. A move to SSC Napoli under Antonio Conte could reboot the final stretch of his career, and Aurelio De Laurentiis would gladly bring another world star to the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.
Is there any chance of staying at Liverpool?
For now, bookmakers still make Salah staying at Liverpool the leading outcome at
1/2
But the context and the unmistakable tone of his interview suggest he has burned his bridges, and the club backing the manager looks like the final straw.
It increasingly feels like one of them, whether Salah or Slot, has to go, and that is not a far-fetched scenario if results do not improve quickly.
Salah’s sharp interview almost certainly marked the point of no return between player and manager, and to a lesser extent, with the club. His decline is clear, but structurally it ties into major changes to the playing model and, to some extent, a generational shift inside the squad.
Leaving the Reds at the end of the season would suit both parties, but given the current circumstances, this saga looks set to be settled in the winter transfer window.
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