Discussions about Mohamed Salah's future have covered the 2024-2025 season, while the Egyptian player has been a regular scorer every week, amid the context that this could be his final campaign at Liverpool.
The striker himself has further fueled the outrage when he publicly admitted that he considers this his final season at Anfield. His goals and assists have helped The Kop officially become Premier League champions at the start of the new year. In April, the announcement was made, just as The Kop fans were waiting for: a new contract.
The 32-year-old striker signed a new 2-year contract with the Anfield team. He will turn 33 in June, and when this contract with Liverpool ends, Salah will turn 35.
At the time, this seemed obvious, but giving a new contract to a player of that age was completely contrary to fenway Sports Group's (FSG) policy. Previously, they often did not renew players over 30 years old. This approach was applied by Michael Edwards throughout his time as sporting director, from 2016 to 2022.
Since then, both Salah and Virgil van Dijk - who turned 34 in June - have been signed new contracts, hoping that this continuation will help Liverpool maintain their dominance.
So, 6 months after Salah signed a new contract, the numbers are not very positive. If there is anything wrong, it is strong evidence to support the reason why FSG set such a policy from the beginning.
Salah scored two goals in the last nine games of last season. Up to now this season, he has only scored 2 goals. That means, since failing to score against Everton in early April, Salah has only scored 4 goals in 16 matches - an average of 4 matches with 1 goal.
Even his creativity has declined significantly, with only 3 assists in the last 17 matches in the tournament. The Reds are struggling with expensive summer signings that have yet to find a common ground, and Salah is falling victim to that situation.
Salah's age, although he is constantly trying to recover and maintain his fitness, will certainly catch up with him soon. Cristiano Ronaldo is a typical example for a player who knows how to adapt to his role and fitness to overcome the aging process.
Wayne Rooney believes Salah's decline in performance is acceptable as he is still scoring. However, when the numbers began to decline, that was the time when the warning bell rang.
"With new players like Isak, Ekitike, or Wirtz, what does Salah think? Top players always have a big ego, and Salah has been one of the best stars in the league for many years. But last week showed that when things were not going well, people would question his fighting spirit," said the former England striker.
Salah's best teammate, Sadio Mane, was 30 years old when he left Liverpool after his contract was about to expire. Roberto Firmino is still playing for Liverpool at the age of 31 and was an excellent player under Jurgen Klopp, but the club also decided not to renew his contract with him.
There will be no regrets about those decisions, as both players have failed to replicate their peak form from Liverpool. They have chosen a different path with Salah. And despite all his achievements, the Egyptian needs to put aside the noise to prove that the Anfield board were right to temporarily put the familiar policy aside.
