Mohamed Salah to leave Liverpool at end of 2025-26 season

Liverpool have confirmed that Mohamed Salah will depart Anfield when the 2025-26 campaign closes, concluding a nine-year tenure that has elevated the 33-year-old Egypt forward into the pantheon of modern club legends.

Although Salah signed an extension through 2027 only last April, the two parties have now reached an agreement that accelerates his exit by 12 months. The decision brings clarity to a season that has been punctuated by flashes of brilliance, public tension and mounting speculation over his long-term future.

Since arriving from Roma in the summer of 2017, Salah has amassed 255 goals in 435 competitive matches—third behind Ian Rush and Roger Hunt on Liverpool’s all-time chart—while supplying 119 assists. His trophy haul features two Premier League titles, the 2019 Champions League, one FA Cup and two League Cups, making him one of the most decorated players in the club’s 132-year history.

Last term he spearheaded Liverpool to a domestic double, finishing as both the league’s leading scorer (29) and top creator (18 assists) as Arne Slot secured the title in his first season at the helm. The current campaign has proved less fruitful: five league goals and six assists from 22 appearances, with 10 strikes across all competitions as Liverpool battle to secure a top-four berth.

Relations between player and club hit a nadir in December when Salah, left out of the starting line-up for a third consecutive match, told reporters he felt “thrown under the bus” and suggested “someone does not want me in the club.” He was subsequently omitted from the Champions League squad for the round-of-16 first leg at Inter before being reintegrated following the Africa Cup of Nations.

In a video message released on Tuesday, Salah addressed supporters directly: “This is the first part of my farewell. I will be leaving Liverpool at the end of the season… Liverpool is not just a football club, it’s a passion, a history, a spirit.” He thanked team-mates, staff and fans for “the best time of my life,” adding, “This will always be home to me and my family.”

Liverpool’s statement stressed that, with objectives still to chase this term, a full celebration of Salah’s legacy will be staged “later in the year when he bids farewell to Anfield.”

Where the winger plies his trade next remains uncertain. “We do not know where Mohamed will play next season,” agent Ramy Abbas Issa posted on social media. Saudi Pro League outfits Al Ittihad and Al Hilal—both backed by the Public Investment Fund—have courted Salah in previous windows, while Major League Soccer has long monitored a move that would mirror the arrivals of Lionel Messi and Thomas Muller in the United States.

From a financial standpoint, Salah’s departure will remove a weekly salary in excess of £400,000 from a wage bill that surpassed £400 million last season. With UEFA’s squad cost ratio set to cap clubs competing in Europe at 70 per cent of revenue spent on wages, amortisation and agent fees, Liverpool’s hierarchy can now reallocate funds toward a squad refresh. Sporting director Richard Hughes is expected to target attacking reinforcements, though the club are mindful that replacing Salah’s combined output will likely require multiple signings rather than a solitary marquee acquisition.

For supporters, the announcement marks the impending end of an era defined by blistering pace, ruthless finishing and iconic moments: the curled effort against Chelsea in 2019, the solo strike at Watford on debut, the snow-bound derby winner versus Everton. Alongside Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino, Salah formed one of the most feared attacking trios in European football, propelling Liverpool back to the summit of the domestic and continental game.

The final chapter of his Anfield story is still to be written. Eight fixtures remain in the league plus potential cup commitments, and the club insist Salah remains “firmly focused” on delivering a strong finish. Yet every touch, every sprint, every trademark left-foot finish will now carry added poignancy as fans prepare to salute the Egyptian King one last time.

When the curtain falls next May, Salah will exit as a modern great whose influence transcended goals and medals, reshaping expectations of what a Liverpool forward can achieve. Life after Salah begins now, both on the pitch and in the accounts ledger, as the Reds confront the dual challenge of preserving competitiveness while ushering in a new attacking identity.