"Don't go under a cloud." That was Steven Gerrard's message to Mohamed Salah after the forward's December media explosion threatened to turn a dignified exit into a messy one.
Gerrard revealed on Stick to Football that he spoke to Salah directly following the interview where the Egyptian accused Liverpool of throwing him under the bus — and still believes Salah will come to regret that moment, regardless of how the rest of the season plays out.
The exit itself was already in motion. Liverpool, by Gerrard's account, only wanted to offer Salah a one-year extension rather than the two he eventually signed 12 months ago. So the current arrangement — Salah departing at the halfway point of that deal — was arguably written into the contract before the ink dried.
A messy moment that could have been much worse
What made December genuinely dangerous for Liverpool was the timing. Salah was benched, openly frustrated, and the Africa Cup of Nations offered a potential exit route that could have meant he never pulled on the red shirt again. Arne Slot defused it calmly, treating the whole episode as water under the bridge and preserving Salah's chance to sign off properly. Credit where it's due — that was smart management under pressure.
The result is that Salah gets a full farewell. Nine years, a Champions League, two FA Cups, and a Premier League title. Former defender Martin Škrtel, who left Anfield a year before Salah arrived from Roma in 2017, put it plainly: "Mo leaves a legacy behind him." He's not wrong.
What comes next — and why it probably isn't Europe
Bayern Munich have already cooled on a move. PSG and Barcelona don't make much financial sense for a player of Salah's age and wage demands. That leaves Saudi Arabia or MLS, and Gerrard — who managed Al Ettifaq and played for LA Galaxy — was candid about the gap in quality.
His assessment of the Saudi Pro League: top four clubs sit somewhere around lower Premier League or top Championship level. MLS, he suggested, doesn't even reach that. Salah will be paid handsomely in either competition. Whether the football challenges him is a different question entirely.
"He'll regret it," Gerrard said of the December outburst. Maybe. But the only thing that truly matters now is how the goodbye looks come May — and right now, it's tracking toward the send-off Salah deserves.
