Mohamed Salah opened the door to leaving Liverpool with explosive comments in early December, but Saudi Arabia is the most likely destination for him in January.
Mohamed Salah will remain at Liverpool beyond the January transfer window after interest from Saudi Arabia waned. The Middle East is most likely linked to Salah’s departure from Anfield, but that possibility has faded in the weeks since his bombshell interview.
Salah’s departure in January seemed likely when he dropped off in front of reporters at Elland Road in early December and accused Arne Slott of throwing him under the bus. Salah insisted he had nothing to do with the manager and was furious at missing the match.
However, tensions subsided over time and Slott and Salah had a heated meeting before the 33-year-old came off the bench against Brighton. He then departed to represent Egypt in the African Cup of Nations, distancing himself from Liverpool.
Salah’s contract runs until June 2027, with Liverpool paying him £350,000 a week, making the Saudi Professional League one of the few viable transfer destinations. But the rapprochement with Mr. Slott, at least for now, appears to have alienated his admirers in the Middle Eastern country.
read more: Transfer News LIVE: Semenyo deal completed, Liverpool’s defensive stance, Manchester United “call” Nevesread more: “I had to leave Liverpool because of three of my team-mates, but now I’m at my new club and I love it.”
The i newspaper reports that interest from top Saudi clubs has waned and he feels there is little chance of doing business in January. He will remain the league’s prize money earner, but the signing of the young star signals a move away from big names like Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar.
It was previously reported that Saudi clubs Al Hilal, Al Qadisha and Neom were interested in signing Salah. And with Pro League president Omar Mughalbel confirming earlier this month that “Salah will be welcome” in Saudi Arabia, that remains a possibility in the future.
The affair between the two is not new. Liverpool rejected a £150m offer from Al Ittihad in September 2023 and have since had to deal with constant speculation linking their star player with a move to the Middle East.
After the 2-1 win against Wolves on December 27, Slott again tried to throw cold water on Salah’s situation. “If you think about when we used him in the team against Brighton, it was a sign that we were moving forward, so we brought him on as the first substitute,” he said.
“So we moved on, but now he’s at AFCON and there’s an important game over there, so it’s fair to him and the Egyptian team that we don’t talk about him too much here when it comes to Liverpool. But it’s also fair to the players here, because we have a lot of games to play too.”
“So I think what we have already shown with our actions after the interview in Leeds is in our best interest for him and for Egypt. And now he needs to put his full effort into Egypt and we need to put our full effort here.”
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