'The timing is not fine, it is like a punch to the gut'
Mohamed Salah's arrival at the club in 2017 was the catalyst for a return to riches. Champions League titles, Premier League titles, winning the lot again - it was unimaginable as the club teetered on the brink of administration in 2010. This is a short story of what has gone wrong for Liverpool this season, something has snapped internally.
[BBC] [Getty Images] 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: 348 days ago a new contract was signed, securing his future at the club until 2027.
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.