Jamie Carragher makes bold prediction for Mohamed Salah’s Liverpool farewell | OneFootball

Jamie Carragher believes Liverpool can deliver Mohammed Salah a “perfect send off” and a Champions League winners’ medal but worries that English football may struggle to replace his star quality.

News of Salah’s exit at the end of the season broke out of the blue on Tuesday evening, signalling the end of an illustrious nine-year partnership between the Egyptian and the Anfield club.

With 255 goals in 435 appearances, the 33-year-old will depart as the club’s third highest goalscorer behind only Ian Rush and Roger Hunt.

Former Reds stalwart Carragher ranks him among the very best to have worn the shirt and tipped the possibility of a fairytale final chapter on the European stage.

“The timing of Tuesday’s announcement strikes me as both perfect and clever. Confirming his intentions now guarantees the kind of emotional, grand farewell that a player of his standing deserves,” Carragher wrote in the Daily Telegraph.

“While I will celebrate his career, I have no wish to be part of a grand Anfield farewell after the club’s final Premier League fixture in May. Every Liverpool fan has something far better and more dramatic in mind.

“Knowing Salah’s mindset and competitive spirit, he will be setting his sights on the greatest of all possible goodbyes a week later: inspiring his team to victory in the Champions League final in Budapest. Do not bet against the perfect send off.”

The former England defender also feels that Salah will leave a huge void well beyond Merseyside.

“Liverpool’s loss is English football’s loss. It means the Premier League will soon be deprived of another world-class, generational talent.

“Following Kevin De Bruyne’s exit from Manchester City just last season, Salah’s Anfield farewell brings down the curtain on another career in this country which has illuminated our stadiums. Until others step up to fill the huge void, we may risk suffering a ‘superstar famine’.”

Salah’s team-mate Andy Robertson, who signed for the club in the same transfer window in 2017, led the dressing room tributes.

Posting on Instagram, the Scotland international wrote: “Mohamed, thank you.

“Nine of the best years of our lives with amazing memories on and off the pitch. Watching you become the best at what you do and become one of the best to ever have worn the Liverpool shirt has been a joy to watch and be part of.

“Your mentality is second to none and a lot of people could take note. You have pushed yourself every single day and always demanded more from yourself and others. A pleasure sharing the pitch with you for so long but even more so being able to call you a friend.

“You deserve a send-off that reflects your status at LFC – the greatest. Second to none.”

The exact circumstances behind the decision have yet to be revealed, with the role of manager Arne Slot unclear, but former Liverpool player Stephen Warnock has suggested the Dutchman could find himself following Salah out of the club if results go badly in the coming weeks.

“Do they have a replacement now in the squad? No they don’t, absolutely not,” he told BBC Radio Five Live.

“Whether it’s Arne Slot or a new manager (who has to find one), we’ll have to wait and see. That’s another thing that’s up for debate.

“If Liverpool crash out of the Champions League to Paris St Germain in the next few weeks and they don’t win against Manchester City in the FA Cup, suddenly things look a lot bleaker.

“It won’t just be Mohamed Salah they’re looking for a replacement for, it will be the manager.”