Mohamed Mansour didn't deny it. He didn't confirm it either. But when the billionaire owner of San Diego FC calls Mohamed Salah "probably one of the great players today" and says he'd be "an asset" to any team that lands him — while refusing to rule out a personal recruiting push — you can read between the lines just fine.
Salah confirmed this week he's leaving Liverpool at the end of the season after nine years, 255 goals, two Premier League titles, a Champions League, and four Golden Boot awards. Saudi Arabia remains the frontrunner. But MLS is a genuine option, and San Diego FC has emerged as the most discussed destination if he heads stateside.
What Mansour actually said — and didn't say
Speaking at the Business of Soccer summit in Atlanta on March 26, Mansour was effusive about his Egyptian compatriot. "Of course Mo Salah is somebody that, as an Egyptian, my origin, I'm very proud of," he told AFP. He even named Salah his favourite footballer of all time.
What he wouldn't do is confirm any direct approach. Asked whether San Diego has sounded out a move, Mansour deflected cleanly: recruitment decisions belong to the sporting director and coach, not to him. "I let the people in charge decide," he said.
That's a polished non-denial. And given that Mansour has the financial muscle — San Diego paid a $500 million MLS expansion fee — and the personal connection to Salah through their shared Egyptian heritage, the link isn't going away.
The club that could actually make it work
San Diego FC only entered MLS in 2025, but they've built fast. A record 60 points in their debut season. A playoff semi-final run. Currently fourth in the Western Conference and undefeated. For a club one year old, that's a serious foundation.
They also run the Right to Dream global academy network, with operations in Ghana, Egypt, and Denmark — a pathway that produced Tottenham's Mohammed Kudus, among others. The Egyptian connection gives San Diego a legitimate cultural case to make to Salah, beyond just the cheque.
The footballing case is trickier. Salah has scored just five league goals this season at Liverpool — his worst return in years — and publicly said the club "threw him under the bus" after a dip in form led to him being dropped. At 32, the question isn't whether he has anything left; it's whether MLS is where he wants to spend his last elite years, or whether Saudi money wins out.
Mansour put it simply: "Wherever he will go, he will add a lot to that league and to that country and to that team for sure."
Hard to argue with that. The question is which league gets to find out.
