Mohamed SALAH: 2025/26

I can remember Saint @ Greavsie labouring the point on their Saturday morning show, urging teams to get after him as the weak spot in our defence

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The timing is not fine, it is like a punch to the gut.

19:24 GMT 25 March

Lola Katz Roberts
BBC Fan Contributor.

If I hadn’t seen such riches, I could live with being poor.

Mohamed Salah’s arrival at the club in 2017 was the catalyst for a return to riches. The mythologised 70s and 80s, happening before our eyes again.

Champions League titles, Premier League titles, winning the lot again - it was unimaginable as the club teetered on the brink of administration in 2010.

That’s what Salah means: glory, greatness, always.

There are not enough superlatives in the English language to convey his relentless brilliance, but there are two tenets of truth to hold on to as the news breaks that he will leave the club at the end of this season:

  1. 348 days ago a new contract was signed, securing his future at the club until 2027.
  2. The brilliance has relented this season.

This is a short story of what has gone wrong for Liverpool this season, something has snapped internally.

The highest-paid player - and deservedly so - has not delivered to his usual standards on the pitch this season and not playing your highest-paid forward is not sustainable.

So Liverpool’s highest-paid player, one of the greatest to ever do it, will leave at the end of this season. All of that is fine and to be expected - setting aside the emotional impact of losing a person who has been a constant in my life for almost a decade.

What isn’t fine is what happened after the Leeds game or the cameras panning to the bench to capture ironic laughter after being substituted. For a man who bends time to his will on the football pitch, he has always had a strong sense of timing off it.

The timing of this announcement is not fine. Just like the Leeds comments were systematically delivered to render maximum impact, so this announcement has arrived like a punch to the gut.

The future of the manager is in doubt and instead of two weeks of reflection to draw breath before one final push, we have this.

Thank you Mo. Thank you a thousand times - but you could have waited. Nobody is bigger than Liverpool Football Club, not Bill Shankly, not Steven Gerrard, not Jurgen Klopp, not Mohamed Salah.

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Perhaps the timing of the announcement was down to the club rather than the player though?

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im the opposite.

i think the timing is perfect.

it takes the heat of slot in the short term, it ends the relentless(and they were due to start) questioning on his future…

i get why people would prefer he waited, but i just dont think that translates anymore…i mean, theres the next season kit launch for starters…cant have him wearing that for the promos, and it escalates from there.

hankering for a time when these things could be kept inhouse until the final ball is kicked is just nostalgia

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To me it sounds as though Slot has had questions to answer in front of FSG recently… Coming on the back of MO speaking out of turn the other week, it could be that Slot has made a case for no longer guaranteeing MO a starting berth next season, as he doesn’t suit the football style Slot wants to incorporate…

I expect Slot to be in charge next season, and I expect he will be given licence (maybe even new coming and going amongst the players of his choosing), to implement his own agenda. Once Slot has been granted a stay of execution, and been given everything he has asked for, any excuses for playing ā€˜shit’ again in the early games… should not be tolerated and should come with a swift axing.

For all we know, Slot himself has got a form of buyers remorse regarding taking the LFC job on. Maybe with the criticism, scrutiny and constant pressure to perform, it goes beyond his laid back style of living the good (family)life… He has never had such an array of talented footballers at his disposal, maybe his coaching methods have reached a plateau and he can’t accommodate the special talents some of the players have.

Only Slot himself knows how good or bad he is at his job, which in turn means he either continues to grift his way through the remaining tenure if that is what is happening, or at some point, his talents are adequate and begin to shine through constantly, so he can fill this ā€˜winning silverware’ coaching role with ease.

Either way, MO will not be in his plans next season

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Oh, I just realised that we won’t have Mekka and Kayan scoring post match goals at the final home match at Anfield with the crowd cheering after this season. :sob:

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It twists my gut that Salah can’t finish his contract and make it 10 years with Liverpool. I don’t know what happened behind the scenes but I don’t like that it has come to this.

His efforts to add to his legacy at the end of last season failed as he couldn’t score after March, same time as the team started to stagnant. Everyone including him was optimistic that the would be a reset this year, but… well. I still remember Gerrard’s last match and am feeling like we are sending off another great(est) player in the same way.

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Edit

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Hopefully don’t lose 6-1

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Mo is a legend, but his current form doesn’t justify another year on those wages.

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can you explain?

Mo’s children.

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Pearce:

  • Inside Mo Salah’s Liverpool exit
  • Agreement struck prior to second leg versus Galatasaray
  • How talks were instigated by player’s camp
  • Why LFC/FSG agreed to sanction free transfer
  • Where next for Salah and how LFC will look to replace him amid links with Olise and Diomande

https://archive.ph/jxV2k

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I will miss you Mo :sob:

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Saw this got brought up again. Wow, Mo was an absolute beast in that away match against Barcelona.

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Remember I was furious when he hit the post with that right footed shot.

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I don’t think I saw Liverpool playing a better match and losing it (especially so heavily). When you compress his performance in a short video, it looks even more mind-boggling. I’ve never watched the replay of that match but both legs should be replayed from time to time because it’s rare to have a CL duel where both team actually played well.

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