Mohamed Salah may have left Liverpool, yet somehow the story still refuses to behave like a clean break. At 33, with Egypt preparing for their opening World Cup match against Belgium in Spokane, Washington, Salah should be focused entirely on football, legacy, and one last grand international stage. Instead, his club future remains the ghost circling every conversation.
That is hardly surprising. Salah’s final months at Liverpool were messy, public, and emotionally loaded—defined largely by a toxic breakdown in his relationship with Arne Slot.
The Slot fallout and Anfield’s collapse
The tension between Salah and Slot had been bubbling under the surface for months, characterized by tactical disagreements and public displays of frustration. Slot’s rigid system and willingness to substitute the Egyptian superstar sparked an internal cold war.
As Liverpool’s 2025/26 season suffered a catastrophic wider collapse, that friction transformed into an open flame.
The toxic atmosphere and cratering results ultimately forced Fenway Sports Group’s hand, leading to Slot’s brutal mid-season sacking. Yet, Slot’s departure came too late to save the campaign, making Salah’s eventual exit feel less like a structured farewell and more like an unresolved argument.
Now, with Andoni Iraola newly appointed as Liverpool head coach, the situation has taken on an entirely different layer. A player who appeared definitively gone may not be quite as gone as everyone assumed.
The psychological toll and Anfield uncertainty
Egyptian goalkeeper Ahmed El-Shenawy has suggested Salah could yet remain at Anfield, claiming the prospect of leaving Liverpool has taken a severe emotional toll on the forward.
“The prospect of leaving Liverpool has affected Mo psychologically, but the situation might change and he could still stay with the team. He even told me that he doesn’t know anything about his future yet.”
That is a significant line not because it confirms a dramatic U-turn, but because it reveals deep uncertainty.
Football often looks like a game of absolutes from the outside: a player leaves, an agent negotiates, and a club moves on. Inside the process, human emotions mean things are rarely that tidy.
Salah’s connection with Liverpool has always gone far beyond goals, trophies, and metrics. He became a defining figure of the modern club one of the few players whose departure changes not only a team sheet, but an entire emotional landscape.
A World Cup dividing line
Salah himself has already made clear that the World Cup could act as the ultimate dividing line in his decision-making process.
“I am still watching, I have time now, I am going to the World Cup and then everything will be clear, but if there is a good opportunity before it I will decide, and if there is no one, I will make my decision after the World Cup.”
That is classic Salah pragmatism. He knows his market, and he knows the power of timing. A strong World Cup with Egypt would not merely add another chapter to his international career; it could completely reshape the financial and sporting offers available to him this summer.
For Liverpool, the question is whether sentiment, strategy, and squad planning can still meet in the same place. Iraola’s arrival brings a fresh voice, a high-pressing tactical framework, and perhaps a clean slate for a conversation. Whether that conversation includes rescuing Salah’s Anfield career remains unclear.
Beware the transfer noise
Ramy Abbas Issa’s intervention also heavily matters. Salah’s representative has reportedly urged caution around transfer leaks, warning fans to “beware” of the noise around his client’s future.
That warning strongly suggests there is no neat, pre-arranged agreement waiting for him in Saudi Arabia, Turkey, or elsewhere. There may be interest, there may be staggering financial offers, and there may be tentative conversations—but certainty is entirely absent.
For now, Mohamed Salah remains suspended between Liverpool history and World Cup possibility. He has left Anfield, yet the door has not been slammed shut in public. In football, that silence matters. Especially when the player involved is Salah, and the club involved is Liverpool.
Read Liverpool FC Verdict
This situation is a fascinating mess, but Andoni Iraola’s arrival changes everything. The toxicity of the late Arne Slot era clearly choked the joy out of Salah’s football, and his exit felt forced by circumstances rather than a genuine desire to leave Merseyside.
If El-Shenawy’s comments are accurate, Salah is grieving the end of his Liverpool career. With Slot now gone and Iraola bringing a clean slate, Richard Hughes and the Liverpool board should seriously consider holding emergency talks post-World Cup.
If Salah shines in the US and Iraola believes the Egyptian can anchor his frontline, writing off the greatest winger in modern Premier League history feels entirely premature. This door is still open.
