Mohamed Salah's Next Move: Saudi Arabia or MLS?

Mohamed Salah stands at a crossroads that few footballers ever reach.

Fresh from a World Cup heartbreak with Egypt and days into life as a free agent after leaving Liverpool, the 34-year-old now has the sport’s powerbrokers circling – from Saudi Arabia to MLS – all waiting for an answer.

A Liverpool era ends

Salah’s departure from Anfield at the end of last season closed one of the defining chapters in modern Liverpool history. Nine years. Trophies, records, and a goalscoring legacy that leaves him third on the club’s all-time list.

He walked away from a £400,000-per-week contract, a figure that instantly narrows the number of clubs who can realistically enter the conversation. But it also underlines his status: this is a global superstar, still convinced he has more to give.

While Liverpool begin to imagine a right flank without that familiar number 11, Salah has been fighting on a different stage.

World Cup agony, spotlight undimmed

On Tuesday, he led Egypt into a World Cup epic against Argentina. For 78 minutes, it looked like a statement night. Egypt were 2-0 up, on the brink of a seismic shock against the world champions.

Then it all collapsed.

Argentina roared back, and in stoppage time Enzo Fernandez drove in the winner to seal a 3-2 turnaround. For Egypt, it was brutal. For Salah, it was a reminder that even in defeat, the eyes of the football world still follow him.

Now, as Egypt process a gutting elimination, the conversation shifts from what might have been at the World Cup to what comes next in his club career.

Romano: Saudi and MLS make their move

Transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano has lifted the lid on the early manoeuvres. Speaking on his YouTube channel, he revealed that the long-standing Saudi interest has not gone away.

“He has the possibility from Saudi because in Saudi they always wanted Mo Salah. Already for two or three years, Mo Salah has been a top target,” Romano said, outlining a pursuit that has been simmering in the background for some time.

The Saudi Pro League has chased Salah before. Al-Ittihad launched a stunning £150m bid on deadline day three summers ago, a move Liverpool resisted. Now, there is no transfer fee to negotiate. Only a contract, and the kind of financial package that would dwarf almost anything in Europe.

Romano also revealed that Saudi Arabia are not alone.

“My understanding is that also from the MLS, some calls took place to understand the situation of Mo Salah, so MLS could be a possibility as well. MLS, Saudi, let's see what Salah decides, but after the World Cup there's going to be time for him and his agent Ramy Abbas to decide the future.”

The phrase is telling: “some calls took place.” This is the first probing, the early stages of a chase that could define the next phase of his career.

Europe, or the great leap?

The choice is stark.

Saudi Arabia offers money on an extraordinary scale and a league that has already lured some of the game’s biggest names. MLS presents a different kind of appeal: lifestyle, a growing competition, and a league that relishes marquee stars who can move the needle on and off the pitch.

Both can pay. Both can build around him.

But the question hangs over everything: does Salah feel ready to leave European football behind?

At 34, many players start to think about the final contract, the soft landing, the “semi-retirement” move. Yet Salah’s output and conditioning suggest a player who could still operate at a high level in one of Europe’s top leagues. If he believes that too, the decision becomes more complicated than simply chasing the biggest offer.

There is, of course, a hard financial reality. His Liverpool wage level means only a small group of European clubs could even contemplate matching anything close to his previous deal, let alone rival Saudi or MLS money. That shrinks the map dramatically.

A rare moment of silence

For now, Salah will step away. Egypt’s exit from the World Cup will sting, and he has earned the right to disappear from the headlines for a short while.

Behind the scenes, though, the work starts. Ramy Abbas, his long-time agent, will field the calls, weigh the numbers, test the seriousness of each proposal. Saudi. MLS. Any late European contenders bold enough to come to the table.

Liverpool have already turned the page, planning a future without the man who terrorised Premier League defences for nearly a decade. Anfield will feel different when the new season begins and that right flank is occupied by someone else.

Salah, for the first time in years, controls every variable of his destiny. No transfer fee. No club to negotiate with. Just a decision that will say everything about how he sees the final act of his career.

Does he chase one last European challenge, or does he step into the new centres of football power in Saudi Arabia or the United States?

The calls have been made. The offers will follow. Now the game waits for Mo Salah’s answer.