Anfield may not have seen the last of Mo Salah after all

Liverpool’s announcement that Mohamed Salah will leave the club when the 2025-26 campaign closes has been framed as the end of an era, yet the fine print of the divorce leaves the door ajar for a swift reunion on the European stage.

Although the 33-year-old’s contract runs to 2027, the club and player have agreed to a mutual termination, a decision that will cost Liverpool any prospect of a transfer fee. Sources close to the negotiations suggest the calculus is simple: Salah is not convinced by the destination willing to pay one. Saudi Pro League sides, most notably Al-Ittihad, have tabled lucrative, tax-free packages, but the forward is thought to be cool on a move to the Gulf, preferring to remain in elite European competition.

That stance has re-opened speculation on a Serie A switch, with The Telegraph highlighting Italy as the most likely next stop. A transfer to a Champions League-qualified Italian club would keep Salah in the competition and, intriguingly, position him for a competitive return to Anfield as early as next season—only this time in opposition colours. Premier League interest has not been ruled out either, though any domestic deal would require a wage structure few English clubs can accommodate without external backing.

The pharaoh’s farewell message, released on 24 March via Instagram and a short video, struck a conciliatory tone after a bruising final year on Merseyside. Relations with head coach Arne Slot soured in the autumn when Salah was dropped for a sequence of matches, prompting the winger to claim the club had “thrown him under the bus.” Injury has since compounded the narrative; a muscle problem picked up in the Champions League victory over Galatasaray on 18 March has sidelined him for the defeat at Brighton, though medical staff hope to have him available for the FA Cup quarter-final against Manchester City on 4 April.

Statistically, the campaign has fallen short of Salah’s own benchmark—10 goals and 9 assists in 34 outings—but those numbers have not deterred suitors convinced he can still influence the biggest fixtures. Liverpool, for their part, will begin life after Salah with wage bill flexibility and a symbolic changing of the guard, yet the peculiar terms of his exit mean the story may yet come full circle under the Anfield lights.