Salah's long goodbye brings curtain down on golden era for Liverpool
Mohamed Salah is third on Liverpool's all-time list of goalscorers, with 255 goals (Paul ELLIS) Mohamed Salah's long goodbye from Liverpool signals the end of a glorious era and leaves the Premier League giants facing another expensive rebuild. The Egyptian superstar announced on Tuesday that he would be leaving Anfield at the end of the season after a glittering nine-year spell at the club. An emotional Salah, 33, expressed his love for Liverpool, where he stands alongside the all-time greats.
"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," he said in a video posted on social media.
Salah, who arrived from Roma in 2017, has scored 255 goals for the Reds, putting him third on their list of leading goalscorers, behind only Ian Rush and Roger Hunt. He has won two Premier League titles along with a Champions League and other silverware and piled up a remarkable number of personal awards. But beyond his numbers, Salah was the poster boy of Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool revolution at Anfield, helping fire the German's team back to the summit of English and European football alongside the now departed Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino.
Salah was again the main man last season under new boss Arne Slot, scoring 29 goals to collect the Premier League Golden Boot award for a record-equalling fourth time as the club romped to a 20th English title. The winger signed a new two-year deal in April, riding a wave of goodwill, after months of speculation over whether he would stay or go. But serious cracks emerged earlier this season when he said he had been "thrown under the bus" by Liverpool and that his relationship with head coach Slot had broken down after a dramatic dip in form that meant the Egyptian was repeatedly benched.
Soon afterwards he left for the Africa Cup of Nations but he returned to the Liverpool fold in January, becoming a regular starter again. Slot tried to draw a line under the incident but Salah did not publicly apologise and speculation over his future never entirely went away. - Champions League glory - Salah is one of the few survivors from the Liverpool side that won the 2019 Champions League under Klopp, along with goalkeeper Alisson Becker and defenders Virgil van Dijk and Andy Robertson.