Mo Salah to Saudi Arabia? Liverpool forward wanted by Saudi Pro League clubs

Saudi Arabian clubs want to sign Mohamed Salah but they would have to have a clear indication that he is ready to play there before making a move for the Liverpool forward.

As things stand, Liverpool have not received any approach for the player. Clubs including Al Ittihad and Al Hilal have tried to sign Salah over the past two years but the player has never shown the firm desire to leave the highest level of club football in Europe and move to the SPL.

SPL clubs have changed strategy and are now targeting younger players rather than stars approaching the end of their careers, but an exception would always be made for Salah.

Al Ittihad made a £150m verbal offer to sign Salah in September 2023 but the move was made very late in the window when the chances of a deal were slim.

There was a real prospect of Salah moving to the SPL before he signed a new Liverpool contract in April but talks were also held about a free transfer with rival clubs in the Premier League and Europe.

But Salah's explosive interview, later branded a "disgrace" by Sky Sports' Jamie Carragher, following Liverpool's 3-3 draw at Leeds - in which he was an unused substitute - has dramatically changed the dynamic around his future, just eight months after signing that two-year deal.

"I have done so much for this club down the years and especially last season," he told reporters at Elland Road. "Now I'm sitting on the bench and I don't know why.

"It seems like the club has thrown me under the bus. That is how I am feeling. I think it is very clear that someone wanted me to get all of the blame.

"I got a lot of promises in the summer and so far I am on the bench for three games so I can't say they keep the promise.

"I said many times before that I had a good relationship with the manager and all of a sudden, we don't have any relationship. I don't know why, but it seems to me, how I see it, that someone doesn't want me in the club."

The club decided to leave the 33-year-old out of the travelling squad for Tuesday's Champions League win at Inter Milan following his outburst. Though no disciplinary action has been sanctioned, it remains to be seen if he is involved against Brighton on Saturday.

Ahead of that victory in Italy, head coach Arne Slot said he had "no idea" whether Salah had played his final game for the club.

Salah would be a dream signing for the Saudi Pro League and senior football officials in the Kingdom believe his signing would be seen as a homecoming for all Arabs.

Salah has shown what can be achieved at the highest level by Arab and African footballers, so his potential signing would have special meaning beyond the borders of Saudi Arabia.

Salah's representatives have good relations with senior Saudi football officials and it is only a matter of time before Salah moves there, but only when he believes the time is right.

Any move for Salah would involve the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia and the Kingdom's Ministry of Sport. However, Saudi officials believe they should no longer pay players more than they earn in Europe.

Carra: I hope Salah plays for Liverpool again despite 'disgraceful' comments

Carragher labelled Mohamed Salah's bombshell interview "a disgrace" but hopes he has not played his final game for Liverpool.

Carragher, who was also name-checked by Salah in his interview, believes the forward's intervention was premeditated and potentially intended to get Slot sacked after Liverpool twice blew a lead in the 3-3 draw at Leeds.

"I thought it was a disgrace what he did after the game," Sky Sports pundit Carragher said on Monday Night Football. "Some people have painted it as an emotional outburst, I don't think it was.

"Whenever Mo Salah stops in a mixed zone, which he's done four times in eight years at Liverpool, it's choreographed with him and his agent to cause maximum damage and strengthen his own position."

He added: "He's chosen this weekend to do this now and he's waited, I think, for a bad result for Liverpool.

"You can see the last-minute goal, Liverpool supporters, the manager, everyone involved in the club feels like they're in the gutter at the moment and he's chosen that time to go for the manager and maybe try and get him sacked."