{"id":563708,"date":"2026-03-25T16:39:17","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T16:39:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/563708\/"},"modified":"2026-03-25T16:39:17","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T16:39:17","slug":"will-the-mohamed-salah-show-go-out-with-a-bang-at-liverpool-soccer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/563708\/","title":{"rendered":"Will the Mohamed Salah show go out with a bang at Liverpool? | Soccer"},"content":{"rendered":"

THE MO-GO ZONE<\/p>\n

With ratings declining, it was inevitable ties needed to be severed without commissioning a new season of a cherished Liverpudlian mainstay. This is what happens when things get tired, they can never replicate what they were in their prime. It is no great shame to have such a long run, collect plenty of awards on the way and finally realise the industry has moved on and there is nothing fresh you can bring to compete with the elite rivals. Plenty of drama and joy was provided, testing the boundaries of what was possible and changing a nation in the process by challenging the establishment. But in the end, time caught up with Brookside and it had to go.<\/p>\n

Mohamed Salah is following a similar path and has pre-announced<\/a> that his time on Merseyside is coming to an end. \u201cLeaving is never easy. You gave me the best time of my life. I will be always one of you,\u201d he sniffed. \u201cThis club will always be my home to me and to my family. Thank you for everything. Because of all of you, I will never walk alone.\u201d It allows everyone time to plan tributes and for scriptwriters to pen a fitting finale. It has been a painful final series for the Egyptian, with plenty of tumultuous episodes and endings Arne Slot did not see coming, even if viewers could. Where previously Salah has been the hero, recently plotlines have turned him into a villain. His improvised Jimmy Corkhill-esque state-of-the-nation monologue<\/a> at the Elland Road stage door caused much distress and upset \u2013 though being \u201cthrown under the bus\u201d was a bit too cliched even for one of the finest soap operas.<\/p>\n

Strong vibes. Photograph: Michael Regan\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

From that moment on, everyone knew what was coming. There have been a few twists and turns along the way, but Tuesday evening\u2019s revelation was still a bombshell. As with any club legend, fans will remember the magic<\/a>, not the negatives. The barren spells and seasons without medals will be long forgotten, left out of the historic montages, which include standing on podiums arms aloft and banging in the goals that have taken Liverpool to glory. Two Premier League titles felt out of reach when Salah joined from Roma in 2017 but he has played a leading role in distracting supporters from the reality of day-to-day life, something they will forever be grateful for.<\/p>\n

It is unlikely Salah will move to Newcastle, more promising is a small house in Hollywood. He turns 34 in June but will be inundated with offers of what to do next on a lucrative tour<\/a> where he can play his greatest hits, almost certainly at a slower pace. People and organisations have to evolve, Liverpool will be plotting their own Hollyoaks as we speak, in the knowledge nostalgia does not win leagues. Salah\u2019s departure is close but not closed, offering a final chance for an explosive conclusion.<\/p>\n

BEAUTIFUL WORLD \u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cThough I have no real understanding of the mechanics of football, and can only nod along helplessly at complex post-match analyses, I do enjoy watching people who are enormously good at something doing that thing very well. And Liverpool\u2019s Mohamed Salah \u2026 is truly, spectacularly good at playing football. The ingenuity of professional footballers always impresses me, not only because of their extreme technical skill, but because of the unimaginably rapid pace at which they have to make high-pressure decisions. For me, watching Mohamed Salah play football is not unlike staring up at the stars and contemplating the vastness of the universe: it makes my own life seem nice and small\u201d \u2013 to 2017, when the author Sally Rooney told Big Website of her adulation for Mo<\/a>.<\/p>\n

LIVE ON BIG WEBSITE<\/p>\n

Join Luke McLaughlin from 8pm (GMT) for updates on Manchester United 2-1 Bayern Munich in the first leg of their Women\u2019s Bigger Cup quarter-final at Old Trafford.<\/p>\n

QUOTE OF THE DAY<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the doctors told me I could go on coaching, I focused on what I had to do for Romania. I spoke to the federation and they told me they couldn\u2019t find a solution to the situation. I\u2019m not in my best shape so I would have stepped away if there was another option available. But I insist: I can\u2019t leave like a coward. We must believe in our chance to qualify\u201d \u2013 Mircea Lucescu tells Emanuel Rosu<\/a> how he is determined not to let illness get in the way of trying to realise his World Cup dream at 80 by guiding Romania past Turkey in the playoffs.<\/p>\n

Mircea Lucescu. Photograph: Stefan Constanttin\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

double quotation markManchester United\u2019s disgruntled fan Tony Riley, chucked out of the seat his family has held as season-ticket holders for more than 75 years (yesterday\u2019s Quote of the Day<\/a>), will probably take no comfort whatsoever from his club\u2019s 2025-26 Fan Engagement plan, published on the club\u2019s website<\/a>: \u2018United with you on and off the pitch, we want you to feel connected to your team, club and community, no matter where you are in the world. We\u2019ll listen to you, improve your experience and reward your loyalty.\u2019 Seems the club didn\u2019t listen, degraded the experience and stuffed loyalty down the hospitality suite\u2019s toilet\u201d \u2013 David Burnby.<\/p>\n

double quotation markWho would have thought that Gianni Infantino would make us pine for the days of Sepp Blatter? That said, I suppose a broken clock can be right twice a day, because this Fifa Series (yesterday\u2019s Football Daily<\/a>) sounds marvellous! You had me at the US Virgin Islands v American Samoa, but I\u2019d happily sit down to watch Aruba v Macau and whatever random delights the computer has thrown up. How wonderful to see something rather than the same old, same old that dominate football\u201d \u2013Stefan Martens.<\/p>\n

If you have any, please send letters to the.boss@theguardian.com<\/a>. Today\u2019s prizeless letter o\u2019 the day is \u2026 David Burnby. Terms and conditions for our competitions, when we run them, are here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

RECOMMENDED VIEWING<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s Nicky Bandini with the lowdown on Italy<\/a>, who take on Northern Ireland in their playoff semi-final as they aim to avoid missing a third World Cup in a row.<\/p>\n

\"CouldCould Italy fail to qualify for their third World Cup in a row? Why there’s still hope \u2013 video<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"THE MO-GO ZONE With ratings declining, it was inevitable ties needed to be severed without commissioning a new…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":563709,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[563],"tags":[64,63,596,85],"class_list":["post-563708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-football","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/563708","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=563708"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/563708\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/563709"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=563708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=563708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=563708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}