Mohamed Salah’s career at Liverpool is coming to an end, but he still has chapters to write before he hangs up his boots.

While his focus remains on trying to help the reigning Premier League champions salvage something this season in the FA Cup and Champions League, with them in the quarter-finals of both competitions, the obvious question is what the Egypt international does next.

The 33-year-old’s representative, Ramy Abbas, took to X on Tuesday to say Salah did not yet know where he would be playing next season and “that means no one else knows”.

After winning the title last season with Liverpool, Salah said in an interview with Egyptian television channel ON Sports that he felt he could play “until he was 39 or 40”.

While 2024-25 was a record-breaking campaign during which he signed a new two-year contract, this one has shown that time is catching up to Salah and his elite powers, which made him a star in world football, are fading.

With no transfer fee being required, there will be suitors, but what options could Salah have?

Saudi Arabia

It has long been predicted that when Salah’s time at Liverpool came to an end, he would become one of the jewels in the Saudi Pro League’s crown.

Al Ittihad, the SPL side owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), tested the resolve of the Anfield hierarchy when they tabled a £150million ($189m at the time) bid for him in the summer of 2023.

Salah, who had two years left on his previous deal at the time, was not for sale. Nearly three years later, it would not be surprising if they returned, having lost star Karim Benzema to rivals Al Hilal in February.

Reigning Saudi champions Al Hilal are another potential suitor. They had wanted Salah for their Club World Cup campaign last summer, when they reached the quarter-finals.

Alternatives could include Al Qadsiah. The Athletic reported in December that they had the required finances and a desire to sign Salah. Their move to a new 47,000-seater stadium could be an attractive pull, although they do not possess the biggest fanbase or historical success. Newly-established club NEOM were also interested following Salah’s explosive comments in December, although being positioned in a geographically remote part of Saudi Arabia could work against their efforts to attract big names.

There is commercial upside in Salah becoming one of the faces of a league in the part of the world where he is already a sporting king. The politics are more complicated, as The Athletic‘s Simon Hughes explored.

The ongoing Middle East conflict has also created huge instability in the region, including Saudi Arabia, where football has been disrupted. The Athletic reported this month that there was unease among some players and staff currently at SPL clubs. Some players’ families have left the region due to safety concerns.

United States

Replace Cristiano Ronaldo as the face of the SPL, or succeed Lionel Messi as the new face of MLS — it’s not a bad set of options for Salah to consider.

He will be in the United States this summer, representing Egypt in the World Cup, which it is co-hosting with neighbours Canada and Mexico, but whether it becomes his next permanent home remains to be seen.

Back in December, after Salah’s outburst, MLS commissioner Don Garber said the league would “welcome him with open arms”.

Don Garber, pictured with Lionel Messi, said in December that MLS would welcome Salah if he wanted to move to the U.S. (Elsa/Getty Images)

In these early stages, at least one of the major MLS teams who have been connected to Salah seems an unlikely destination. San Diego FC, owned by British-Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Mansour, are not in the picture to sign him. That is according to sources familiar with the team’s plans, who, like all in this piece, spoke anonymously to protect relationships. A big-money designated player does not fit their sporting philosophy.

Another of the potential suitors, the Chicago Fire, have not focused on Salah for the summer window, sources said. That could change, of course, as Chicago have tried to recruit Neymar, Kevin De Bruyne and Robert Lewandowski over the past year and did contact Salah before his most recent contract extension with Liverpool.

New York City, a sister club of Manchester City, are another team to keep an eye on. Salah heading to a City Football Group team may jar with Liverpool fans but New York City are opening a new stadium in the Queens district next year and Salah brings the type of starpower that could help draw fans to the new building. One source said they would not rule out the club making a play for him.

Premier League and Europe

Given Salah’s statement to supporters explaining his decision to end his nine-year stay at Anfield — “I will always be one of you,” he wrote — it would feel implausible for him to turn around and join another Premier League club. His bond with the supporters and the legacy he has built would be immediately dented.

The big question is whether Salah feels he is still capable of competing at the top of the game and for football’s biggest prizes. If the answer is yes, then a move to Saudi Arabia or the United States would be a step down, and he would have to make a move within Europe his target.

The view from the continent on Salah, though, is likely to be very different from what it was 12 months ago, when he had been the leading man in Liverpool’s Premier League title success and looked to still be at the peak of his powers.

Salah with the Premier League trophy in May 2025 (Carl Recine/Getty Images)

This season, there has been a considerable drop-off in his all-round performance and output — 10 goals and nine assists in 36 games. He has never scored fewer than 23 in his previous eight seasons with Liverpool.

There are only a select few clubs who can both afford Salah and offer him the chance to compete for top honours. Would Spanish giants Barcelona — who were in close contact with him during his contract stand-off in 2021-22 — or Real Madrid — who are consistently active in the free-agent market — move for him? The former’s ongoing financial issues would be problematic, while the latter are well stocked in the attacking department.

Paris Saint-Germain have moved away from their policy of signing superstars, investing in younger talent with the aim of developing them, while a return to Italy, to Juventus or one of the Milan clubs, for the former Fiorentina and Roma man would be unlikely due to the probable cost of the acquisition.