‘I will never walk alone’: Mo Salah to leave Liverpool at end of season

Legendary forward will end contract 12 months early.

RED LEGEND: Mo Salah will leave Liverpool at the end of the season, the Premier League club have announced. Pic: Peter Byrne/PA Wire.

Mo Salah has announced he will leave Liverpool at the end of the season, bringing to a close one of the greatest careers in the club’s storied history.

In an agreement with Liverpool, the Egypt international will depart on a free transfer this summer despite having 12 months remaining on his contract.

Salah’s current deal is worth about £500,000 a week with performance-related bonuses so, from a financial perspective, a free transfer suits all parties. He has long been linked with a move to the Saudi Pro League but there will be widespread interest in one of the game’s genuine superstars.

Ramy Abbas Issa, Salah’s agent, said: “We do not know where Mohamed will play next season. This also means that no one else knows.” Salah turns 34 in June and, although this season has been the most difficult of his nine years at Anfield, his place among the greats of Liverpool and the Premier League is secure. The forward has scored 255 goals in 435 appearances for Liverpool to date. Only Ian Rush and Roger Hunt have scored more in the club’s 134-year history.

In a video posted on social media, Salah said: “Unfortunately the day has come. This is the first part of my farewell. I will be leaving Liverpool at the end of the season.

“I wanted to start by saying that I never imagined how deeply this club, this city, these people would become part of my life. Liverpool is not just a football club. It’s a passion. It’s a history. It’s a spirit I can’t explain in words to anyone not part of this club. We celebrated victory, we won the most important trophies and we fought together through the hardest time in our life.

“I want to thank everyone who was part of this club throughout my time here, especially the teammates, past and present, and to the fans … I don’t have enough words. The support you showed me through the best time of my career and you stood by me in the toughest times, it’s something I will never forget and something I will take with me always.

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

While the timing of Salah’s announcement comes as a surprise, the decision between the 33-year-old and Liverpool does not. The club said that Salah “expressed his wish to make this announcement to the supporters at the earliest possible opportunity to provide transparency about his future due to his respect and gratitude for them”.

The forward was the driving force behind Liverpool’s record-equalling 20th league title last season and was rewarded with a lucrative two-year contract in April 2025.

His form has deteriorated this term, however, and his Liverpool future was in doubt from the moment he accused the club of throwing him under the bus for the team’s terrible run of results in December. Salah, who was subsequently dropped from Liverpool’s Champions League trip to Inter, also claimed his relationship with the head coach, Arne Slot, was nonexistent. 

But Salah was quickly reintegrated into the side and delivered a reminder of his talent only last week against Galatasaray. A stunning strike in the 4-0 Champions League victory meant Salah became the first player from Africa to score 50 goals in the competition.

Salah joined Liverpool for £34m from Roma in 2017 and, as well as a host of individual honours and records, he has won two Premier League titles, the Champions League, the Club World Cup, Uefa Super Cup, the FA Cup and two League Cups. Despite a poor title defence, Slot’s team have reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League and FA Cup where they will face the holders, Paris Saint-Germain, and Manchester City respectively after the international break. 

Salah is sidelined with a muscle injury but has not been ruled out of the trip to the Etihad Stadium on 4 April.

The striker has won the Premier League’s Golden Boot award four times during his phenomenal Liverpool career and also been named the Professional Footballers’ Association player of the year on three occasions. In September 2023 Liverpool rejected a bid worth up to £150m from Al-Ittihad for Salah, believing he had much more to offer at Premier League level. That proved to be the case until this season, one that followed the tragic death of Diogo Jota, a close friend of Salah.

In a statement accompanying Salah’s video message, the club said: “With plenty still left to play for this season, Salah is firmly focused on trying to achieve the best possible finish to the campaign for Liverpool and, therefore, the time to fully celebrate his legacy and achievements will follow later in the year when he bids farewell to Anfield.”

Guardian