Mohamed Salah's Next Move: Free Agent After Liverpool
Mohamed Salah stands at the most intriguing crossroads of his career.
Fresh from a World Cup heartbreak with Egypt and newly released from Liverpool after nine gilded years, the 34-year-old finds himself a free agent with the football world on the line, waiting.
A World Cup Epic, Then Uncertainty
On Tuesday, Salah was at the centre of a classic. Egypt led world champions Argentina 2-0 heading into the final stages, only to unravel in brutal fashion. Three goals conceded after the 78th minute, Enzo Fernández snatching it in stoppage time. From control to collapse in a blink.
For Egypt, it was a gutting exit. For Salah, it closed one chapter and sharpened the focus on the next.
His Liverpool story is already written into club folklore. Third on their all-time scoring charts, the face of a modern era that delivered the Premier League and Champions League, and the man who turned the number 11 shirt into a symbol. Now, for the first time since 2017, he has no club.
Romano: Saudi and MLS Make Their Move
The scramble for his signature has begun.
Fabrizio Romano revealed that the long-standing admiration from Saudi Arabia has not faded. On his YouTube channel, the transfer specialist underlined how Salah has been a “top target” there for two or three years. The Saudi Pro League wanted him when he was at his peak at Anfield; they still want him now that he is available for nothing.
This is not a new courtship. Al-Ittihad famously tested Liverpool’s resolve with a £150m deadline-day bid three summers ago. The offer was rejected, the project at Anfield unfinished. Now the same calibre of clubs can approach him without a transfer fee, though his salary expectations will remain enormous.
Romano also revealed a fresh angle: MLS clubs have picked up the phone. “Some calls took place to understand the situation of Mo Salah,” he said, making it clear that the United States is not just a theoretical option. It is on the table.
Saudi. MLS. Two very different paths, one common theme: Salah remains box-office.
The Price of a Legend
Any club stepping forward knows the scale of the commitment.
Salah was earning around £400,000 per week at Liverpool before his contract ran out. That level of wage instantly narrows the field. Only leagues with vast financial muscle – or clubs willing to bend their wage structures to breaking point – can realistically compete.
Saudi Arabia, with its state-backed drive to lure global stars, ticks that box. MLS, with its designated player rules and growing appetite for marquee names, can make room for him too.
Europe, though, is the great unknown.
On pure ability, Salah still belongs at the sharp end of the Champions League conversation. His numbers, his professionalism, his fitness levels – all point to a player who can still carry a frontline. The question is whether any European giant can, or will, match the kind of financial package that Saudi or MLS could put in front of him.
And beneath the numbers sits a more personal dilemma: does he feel ready to step away from the relentless demands of elite European football, or does he see one more run at the very top?
Time to Decide
For now, there will be silence.
Romano stressed that the decision will come after the World Cup, with Salah and his long-time representative Ramy Abbas set to weigh up the offers. After the emotional drain of Egypt’s late collapse against Argentina, some distance and rest will be essential.
He has earned that pause. Nine years at Liverpool, carrying the hopes of a nation and a club, rarely missing a game, rarely dropping a standard. Now he can, briefly, disappear from the spotlight while the market whirs around him.
Life After Salah at Anfield
Back on Merseyside, the adjustment begins.
Liverpool will start a season without Salah on the right flank for the first time in nearly a decade. No trademark cut-inside from the right. No familiar number 11 ghosting into the box. No guarantee of 20-plus goals from that channel.
For supporters, the sight of someone else pulling on that shirt will feel jarring. For the club, it is the reality of a cycle ending.
Where Salah goes next will say a lot about how he views the final act of his career. Will he chase a new frontier in Saudi Arabia, embrace the spectacle and financial might? Will he opt for the lifestyle and growing profile of MLS? Or will he squeeze one more chapter out of Europe’s elite stage?
The calls have been made. The offers will follow. Now, the decision belongs to Mohamed Salah alone.
