Forward says decision to leave “feels right” after difficult season as he prepares for Anfield farewell
Mohamed Salah says he is comfortable with his decision to leave Liverpool at the end of the season and bring an end to a nine-year spell at Anfield.
The 33-year-old forward will depart this summer after agreeing with the club to terminate the final year of the two-year contract he signed last year. Liverpool will allow him to leave without seeking a transfer fee.
Salah’s final season has been marked by tension, and sometimes bitterness, including a public disagreement with manager Arne Slot in December when the player said he had been “under the bus” after being dropped during a poor run of results.
Relations improved just before and after his return from the Africa Cup of Nations but he may have considered it difficult to continue playing for Liverpool next season at his current level of performance.
“I feel to go through the season this is the right thing to do now, and I have peace with it,” Salah said. “The season was tough for all of us. I don’t want to say much. I’m happy about it, everything that is going on this season makes me like ‘No, it’s time to go,’ so I’m happy.”
Salah will receive a farewell at Anfield in the club’s final home game against Brentford. He will miss their game against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday through injury, and perhaps the next one against Chelsea as well, but he believes he will “probably” return before the Brentford game at Anfield.
“I’m glad that I’m leaving now through a big door as that was something you mentioned to me – ‘leave on your own terms’ — and I still remember those words,” Salah told ex Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard.
“Honestly I feel I have a lot to give: physically I feel very good, I played many games this season. I didn’t decide yet what I’m going to do, to be fair, I have a lot of options which are good options.”
His departure, alongside that of long-serving defender Andy Robertson, signals a further period of transition for Liverpool following the changes already made to the squad last summer. Salah said he hoped the culture he had come to know at the club would remain intact.
“We had that so much in the last 10 years, and I really hope from my heart that will not change because now we change a lot of players and the bond of the team is changing,” Salah said. “So I really hope the guys hold it together and have that for the future.”
