Klopp believes Salah could play into his forties after Liverpool exit

Mohamed Salah's former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp believes the Egyptian could continue playing until the age of 40, as he prepares to leave Anfield.

Liverpool announced earlier this week that they had reached an agreement with Salah to allow him to leave at the end of the season, despite him only signing a new two-year contract last year.

Throughout a glittering nine-year stint on Merseyside, Salah has won two Premier League titles, the Champions League, the FA Cup, the EFL Cup, the UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup.

The Egyptian has made 435 appearances for the Reds in all competitions to date, scoring 255 goals as well as providing 119 assists for his team-mates. 

He is third on Liverpool's all-time goalscoring list, behind only Ian Rush (346) and Roger Hunt (285). 

His 284 goal contributions in the Premier League have only ever been bettered by Wayne Rooney (311) and Alan Shearer (324), and 47 of those came last season as he tied the competition's single-season record, alongside Andrew Cole in 1993-94 and Shearer the next campaign.

And Klopp, who brought Salah to Liverpool from Roma and managed him for seven years, believes the forward is far from done at the top level.

"Salah is an incredible professional," Klopp told BBC Sport ahead of a Liverpool legends charity game. 

"He set completely new standards for a professional football player – how hard you can work, how much you can invest in recovery and everything.

"Now, he leaves here, but I would not be surprised if he plays another six or seven years.

"I'm sad, but he's an all-time great without a shadow of a doubt, and I'm really proud to be a part of that career."

Salah has been strongly linked with a move to the Saudi Pro League in recent years, though other clubs, including some in MLS and the Turkish Super Lig, have been touted as potential landing spots.

Following his spectacular 2024-25 campaign, Salah has failed to meet those same standards this season and was involved in a public bust-up with Liverpool boss Arne Slot in December after being benched for a run of three games.

Salah has only found the net five times in the Premier League this season, leaving him on course for his worst goalscoring campaign in the competition since joining Liverpool.

Asked if the time was right for Liverpool to move on, Klopp said: "It's not for me to make that decision, but I think it's right that there's an agreement. 

"I really think the whole relationship was a fair deal. An exceptional player, exceptional numbers, and he earned some money, of course.

"And now he can go wherever he wants, and the club will find other players, and that's absolutely okay. After all these years, there should be no bad sentiment at all, and as far as I'm concerned, I can't see any."