Mohamed Salah could reunite with some former Liverpool team-mates if he heads to the Saudi Pro League. The Egyptian has announced he will leave the Reds at the end of this season and another ex-colleague thinks he will cost £200million to replace.
Having spent nine years leading the line at Anfield, Salah took to social media this week with the emotional revelation that this campaign will be his last in a Liverpool shirt. The 33-year-old will depart having won almost all there is to win whilst scoring over 250 goals for the club. But retirement is still a long way off, and so Salah's next destination is now a talking point.
During his time with Liverpool, the winger has often been linked with interest from the Saudi Pro League. A whopping £150m bid from Al-Ittihad for Salah was reportedly rejected in 2023, and Al-Hilal have also been mooted as a suitor. Should he join either of these, he'd be reunited with some old peers.
If it were Al-Ittihad that Salah opts to join next, then he'd likely share the pitch with Fabinho again. The Brazilian midfielder spent five seasons at Anfield and became an integral part of Jurgen Klopp's team.
He acted as the anchor to the Reds' Champions League win in 2019 and their 2019/2020 Premier League triumph. Fabinho left the club in 2023 for Saudi Arabia, but admitted he didn't ideally want to depart.
"I didn't want to leave and go to any other club in Europe," he told the Guardian. "I thought Liverpool was the best place in the world to play, to keep developing as a player. I wanted my legacy and my history at the club to grow even more.
"But our last season was very gruelling, tiring. I lost my position as a starter for a few games, but that happens. I came back for the following season with a very good mentality. But before the season started, Al-Ittihad made an offer for me.
"The Liverpool directors said it was very good for the club and for me. Liverpool is a club I love but the things that happened at the time steered my life towards Arabia. I left in peace and happy with my decision."
The Brazilian could soon share a dressing room with Salah once again, though if the Egyptian heads for Al-Hilal, he could also play alongside another familiar face in Darwin Nunez. The Uruguayan arrived at Anfield in 2022 from Benfica.
In his three seasons with the club he cut an unpredictable figure, but was part of the squad that won the Premier League in Arne Slot's debut season. He left last summer for an initial £46m, although he has been frozen out after Karim Benzema swapped Al-Ittihad for Al-Hilal.
Regardless of where Salah ends up, he will have to be replaced at Anfield. Another of his former team-mates, Dejan Lovren, claimed last year that it would cost the club dearly to finance a successor.
Lovren told winwin: "Who will you replace him with? That would be the first question if I was in the club. I think you would have to pay 200 million to replace him."
Buy Blood Red, our monthly Liverpool FC print publication for just £3.50 by clicking here
