Mohamed Salah has already decided to leave Liverpool at the end of the season, according to Graeme Souness.
This comes after the forward fuelled speculation on his future following the Reds’ 3-0 demolition of Manchester United, where he appeared to hint at this season being his last at Anfield.
Salah enjoyed a fine Sunday afternoon at Old Trafford, assisting Luis Diaz twice in the first half before sealing the three points with a goal of his own on 56 minutes.
But it was his comments after the match which caused the biggest stir, as he seemed to suggest that he will leave the club when his current contract expires next summer.
Speaking to Sky Sports afterwards, the 32-year-old said: “I had a good summer, I had a long time to work on myself and think positively because, as you know, this is my last year at the club.
“I just want to enjoy it, and I don’t want to think about it. I feel free to play football, and we’ll see what happens next year.
“I was coming to the game, I was saying, ‘Look, it could be the last time’. Nobody in the club talked to me yet about contracts so I was just like, ‘Okay, I play my last season and see at the end of the season’.”
Salah’s unexpected revelation came as a shock to many, but prompted pundits to speculate whether the Egyptian had been speaking literally by stating that this was simply the final year of his current contract.
But former Reds captain Souness believes that his choice of words was no mistake, and suggested that Salah has likely decided on his future away from the club when his deal expires.
Joining Jim White and Simon Jordan on talkSPORT, he said: “Me, I actually think he’s made his mind up. I think he’s got something lined up.”
He went on: “Yeah, looking at it, I think that came out not the way he wanted it, because I think he tried to recover from it further in the interview on Sky yesterday.”
Souness then speculated on Salah’s motivation to move elsewhere, with Saudi Arabia a likely destination.
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He continued: “You know, you’ve got to factor in his family as well. His wife might want to go to Saudi Arabia. He might want to take his kids back to an Arab speaking country.
“These are things we can’t answer.”
And while Jordan admitted he also expects Salah to depart at the end of the season, he appeared to cast doubt over his suggestion that no talks had been held over a new contract at the club.
He said: “I mean, ultimately, I’m assuming that his representative will have had conversations, whether he had a direct conversation is a different matter. And people can play on words.
“I always assumed that he would go to Saudi Arabia.”
Jordan also pointed out that Salah’s age means that Liverpool will have to prepare for life without their talisman at some point in the near future, regardless of when he eventually decides to go.
He added: “I look at it and say there’s eventually going to be a time that Liverpool move on post Salah.
“Now, whether that’s this year or whether it’s another year, Liverpool as a football club will continue to evolve and will continue to be successful.
Meanwhile, Souness discussed other possible destinations for the attacker should he leave Merseyside next summer, and teased a potentially sensational move for the star.
He pondered: “It would be nigh on impossible for him not to have had offers from the big guys in Saudi Arabia.
“Would Real Madrid take him for a couple of years?
“I mean, that’s not an area they need to strengthen. But I mean, he’s been that good in his time at Liverpool. Anyone would take him.”
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