On Tuesday night, Mo Salah played in the Champions League for Liverpool for the 85th and last time.
Three weeks on from the Egyptian announcing that he’s leaving Anfield at the end of this season, we now know that he won’t have the fairytale farewell in the final in Budapest on 30 May, with the Reds exiting the tournament after losing 4-0 on aggregate to Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-finals.
The 33-year-old’s epic European journey with LFC ended in disappointment as they fell to a 2-0 defeat at home last night, a harsh scoreline in a game where key moments didn’t go their way, not least the controversial overturning of what would’ve been a legitimate penalty for a foul on Alexis Mac Allister.
Shortly after the full-time whistle confirmed Liverpool’s exit from the Champions League on Tuesday night, a forlorn Salah approached the Kop and responded in kind to heartfelt applause from the supporters, who also chanted his name in appreciation.
The anguish on the Egyptian’s face was clear to see as he realised that he’d just concluded his final European game with the club, ending a nine-year journey which began in a play-off match away to Hoffenheim back in August 2017 and peaked with triumph in Madrid two years later.
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Salah will leave Liverpool as by far and away their record goalscorer in the Champions League, netting 48 times in the competition, 18 more than the next man on that list (Steven Gerrard, via lfchistory.net).
The first of those came against Hoffenheim at Anfield nine years ago; the final one was in the 4-0 demolition of Galatasaray last month.
Along the way there have been many memorable strikes – his double against former club Roma in 2018, the penalty in the final against Tottenham Hotspur, the one against Napoli which spared us from elimination in that season, the finish from a tight angle against Salzburg, the six-minute hat-trick against Rangers in 2022, and the outrageous strike against the Turkish outfit four weeks ago.
The realisation that Salah will never play for Liverpool in Europe again will hit like a dagger for Reds fans this morning, especially after seeing the desolation in his face as he made his way off the pitch after the elimination against PSG.
It wasn’t supposed to end his way for one of our greatest players of all time, but over the next few weeks he can still exert a huge influence in ensuring that his current teammates will have Champions League football again for the 2026/27 season.
You can view the footage of Salah at full-time below, via @footballontnt on X:
Mo Salah walks off the Anfield pitch for the final time as a Liverpool player in Champions League 😢 pic.twitter.com/FFIJ7BrpJL
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 14, 2026
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