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Mo Salah backed to play until he is 40 despite decline at Liverpool
Martin Macdonald
- 28 Mar 2026 06:01 CDT
- 3 min read
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Liverpool great Jurgen Klopp has heaped praise on outgoing superstar Mohamed Salah and believes the Egyptian can play into his 40s.
This week, Salah and Liverpool confirmed that he will leave Anfield at the end of the season with the following statement from the club:
"Mohamed Salah is to bring the curtain down on his illustrious career with Liverpool FC at the end of the 2025-26 season.
"The forward has reached an agreement with the Reds that will see him close a remarkable nine-year chapter at Anfield.
"Salah expressed his wish to make this announcement to the supporters at the earliest possible opportunity to provide transparency about his future due to his respect and gratitude for them.
"Signed from AS Roma in the summer of 2017, the No.11 has firmly established himself as one of the greatest players in Liverpool’s history, helping the club to two Premier League titles, the Champions League, FIFA Club World Cup, UEFA Super Cup, FA Cup and two League Cups, as well as an FA Community Shield.
"His tally of 255 goals in 435 appearances to date has the Egyptian sitting third on the Reds’ all-time leading goalscorers chart, winning the Premier League Golden Boot on four occasions in addition to a host of personal accolades.
"With plenty still left to play for this season, Salah is firmly focused on trying to achieve the best possible finish to the campaign for Liverpool and, therefore, the time to fully celebrate his legacy and achievements will follow later in the year when he bids farewell to Anfield."
Some eyebrows were raised when Klopp made Salah Liverpool's most expensive ever signing at the time as, in the eyes of some, he was a player who simply flopped at Chelsea.
However, he emerged as one of the best forwards in Italy during his time with Fiorentina and then Roma, which earned him the move to make him a true superstar.
He is Liverpool's greatest ever goalscorer in the Premier League era and is third on the all-time goalscoring charts behind Ian Rush and Roger Hunt.
Salah has undoubtedly declined, however. After breaking the record for the most goal contributions in a 38-game Premier League season last campaign, he has just five goals and six assists in the league in 2025/26.
His most likely destinations are Major League Soccer or the Saudi Pro League, but wherever he goes, Klopp reckons he could play for seven more years.
"Salah is an incredible professional," the German told BBC Sport.
"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."
When asked if the time was right for Liverpool and Salah to cut ties after six years, Klopp responded:
"It's not about 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 have to find and will find other players, and that's absolutely OK.
"After all these years there should be no bad sentiment at all and as far as I'm concerned I can't see any."
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