'Having the time to say goodbye feels fitting'
[BBC] [Getty Images] He might be one of my favourites ever, you know. The inevitable thing, which gets lost in the joy of memories, is that one day they will just be that. To quote Andy Bernard in The Office (US): "I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days, before you've actually left them.
" Because once Mohamed Salah moves on at the end of the season, so too will another part of the football team that captured my heart and imagination as a slightly younger man. Put some stamps on my passport, those lads did. Though there is never really a good time to say goodbye, I actually think this might be right for both Salah and Liverpool.
After all the ups and downs that both have been through this season, a parting of ways was always inevitable - but having the time to say goodbye feels fitting. Who knows how much more upheaval is to come in the summer, but at least we know we'll be saying goodbye on our (Salah and the fans') terms to one of our (Liverpool Football Club's) all-time greats. Because that's exactly what Salah is.
You only have to look at the litany of trophies behind him as he announced his exit to see just what he brought to the table. Goals led to wins, wins led to trophies, trophies became part of the journey - but it was the journey that was the true joy. To watch a ' Chelsea reject' blossom into a bona fide Liverpool legend.
There is never really a good time to say goodbye, but I hope the emotion of Mo's exit can provide the lightning in a bottle that sees the Reds' season end on the kind of terms our Egyptian King deserves to leave on. Winning. Trophies.