Arne Slot left the question hanging in the Anfield press room on Friday afternoon. Pressed five times in 12 minutes on whether Mohamed Salah will feature in Sunday’s final-day fixture against Crystal Palace, the Liverpool head coach offered only a thin smile and the same eight-word reply: “We will make that decision on Sunday.” It was the closest the Dutchman has come to acknowledging that the 33-year-old Egyptian, whose contract expires on 30 June and who has not signed an extension, may have already pulled on the red shirt for the last time.
Salah, who has scored 28 Premier League goals and registered 18 assists this season — his most productive campaign in a Liverpool shirt since 2017-18 — was an unused substitute in Tuesday’s 2-1 defeat at Brighton. Slot confirmed only that the forward “trained well” on Thursday and “is in the squad” for Sunday’s 4pm kick-off, a match Liverpool will enter as confirmed Premier League champions following Arsenal’s slip at Newcastle last weekend.
A farewell Slot refuses to script
The reluctance to commit, sources at the club indicate, is less about tactics than about tone. Liverpool’s hierarchy remain in dialogue with Salah’s representatives over a 12-month extension worth a reported £400,000 per week, and any public framing of Sunday as a goodbye would, in Slot’s view, prejudge a negotiation that has not concluded. Saudi Pro League side Al-Ittihad are understood to have tabled a two-year offer in excess of £150m net, while Barcelona have made tentative enquiries through intermediaries.
“Mo is a Liverpool player on Sunday and, as far as I’m concerned, beyond Sunday,” Slot said. “I will not stand here and write his story for him. That is for him and the club.” Asked directly whether the player had requested a starting role for what could be a ceremonial farewell, Slot replied: “Players ask many things. My job is to pick a team that wins a football match. Crystal Palace are seventh. They are not coming here to wave anyone off.”
Eight years, 245 goals and an unfinished conversation
Should Sunday prove to be Salah’s 401st and final appearance for Liverpool, the numbers will frame the legacy. Signed from Roma in June 2017 for an initial £36.9m, he has scored 245 goals in all competitions, won the Premier League twice, the Champions League in 2019, the FA Cup, two League Cups and a Club World Cup. He is the only player in Premier League history to win the Golden Boot four times, and his 2017-18 tally of 32 league goals remains the record for a 38-game season.
The parallels with Steven Gerrard’s 2015 Anfield send-off — when Brendan Rodgers confirmed the captain’s farewell 48 hours in advance and Liverpool lost 3-1 to Crystal Palace — have not been lost on supporters. The Kop is expected to be in full voice regardless of team selection, with a tifo already prepared by the Spion Kop 1906 group. Club sources say no formal farewell ceremony has been planned, a deliberate choice that mirrors the contractual ambiguity.
What Sunday decides, and what it does not
The competitive stakes are minimal. Liverpool, on 86 points, cannot be caught by second-placed Arsenal. Crystal Palace, managed by Oliver Glasner, are safe in mid-table. Slot is expected to rotate, with Federico Chiesa, Cody Gakpo and Diogo Jota all in contention for forward berths, and Harvey Elliott pushing for a start in midfield.
The deeper questions extend beyond 90 minutes:
- Whether Salah’s contract talks, stalled since March, can be revived before the 30 June deadline
- How Liverpool’s recruitment department, led by Richard Hughes, plans to replace 28 league goals if he departs
- Whether Florian Wirtz, the Bayer Leverkusen playmaker Liverpool have pursued for 14 months, can be reframed as a right-sided option
- What Salah’s exit would mean for Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold, both also out of contract this summer
Slot, who succeeded Jürgen Klopp last June and has delivered the title at the first attempt, was asked whether he would be disappointed not to manage Salah next season. The pause stretched to four seconds. “I would be disappointed not to manage a player of that quality,” he said. “Whether that player is Mo Salah is a question I cannot answer today. Ask me on Monday.”
By Monday, Anfield will know.
Ahmad Ali, Senior Football Correspondent, SportsPortal.net
Sports journalist and editor at SportsPortal.net. Covers cricket, football, Formula 1, tennis, and basketball with a focus on how global sports connect with Pakistani audiences. Follows the PSL, Pakistan national cricket team, Premier League, and major international tournaments. Has reported on sports for digital audiences since 2021.
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