Legend or liability? The case for a Mohamed Salah exit at Anfield | OneFootball

The sight of Mohamed Salah wheeling away in celebration for Liverpool has been as certain as the tide on the Mersey in recent years.

Racking up 29 goals and 18 assists in 38 appearances, Salah was Liverpool’s main driving force en route to domestic glory last time out.

He became only the fourth player to top the Premier League charts for both goals and assists in a single season, joining Andrew Cole, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Harry Kane.

With his contract running until 2027, Liverpool fans would have relished seeing their Egyptian winger running down the wing for another two years, but the sentiment is shifting from reverence to a cold reality.

Salah is currently enduring a nine-game Premier League goal drought, the longest of his Liverpool career, and it may be time to confront the unthinkable – the Salah era should end this summer.

Since scoring against Aston Villa on November 1, 2025, the reigning Player of the Year has failed to score in the Premier League.

While he has provided occasional sparks in cup competitions – scoring against Qarabag in the Champions League and Brighton in the FA Cup – his league form has been nothing to write home about.

The statistics from Sunday’s 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest were alarming. Salah registered zero shots, zero successful dribbles and just one chance created.

The 33-year-old’s explosive pace that once terrified full-backs has clearly waned, and Salah’s tendency to drift out of games is fast becoming a liability rather than a luxury.

His relationship with Liverpool manager Arne Slot has also come under the microscope. Salah claimed he felt ‘thrown under the bus’ during a difficult winter period.

With rumours of a summer move to the Saudi Pro League growing louder by the week, it increasingly feels as though this is Salah’s last season on Merseyside.

Parting ways with Salah at the end of the season would not be an act of betrayal, but of preservation.

Selling him this summer would allow Liverpool to protect his legacy before it is tarnished by the inevitable decline of age.