Mohamed Salah's Conditions for Saudi Move: What’s Next?

Mohamed Salah has signalled he is ready to take the Saudi plunge – but only on his terms, and they are anything but small.

The Liverpool great, whose departure from Anfield this summer has already split the fanbase, has “granted approval” to a move to the Saudi Pro League, according to reports from Saudi outlet Marebpress. Yet the green light comes with three heavyweight conditions that reflect both his status and his sense of unfinished business at the top of the game.

Salah’s Saudi stance: yes, but…

Salah, 33, leaves Liverpool one year before the end of his £400,000‑per‑week deal, after a bruising campaign on and off the pitch. The club laboured to a fifth‑place finish, the season was overshadowed by the tragic death of teammate Diogo Jota, and Arne Slot ultimately paid with his job.

Amid that turbulence, Salah’s relationship with Slot deteriorated. Those close to the forward have made it clear that the breakdown with the Dutchman weighed heavily in his decision to walk away from Anfield after nine years.

With that chapter now closed, attention has swung fully to his next destination. Saudi clubs have circled for months. As previously reported, Salah has long been a marquee target for the Pro League, with plans not just to hand him one of the richest contracts in sport, but also to position him as a global ambassador for football in the country.

The latest Saudi reports claim Salah has already received a formal offer. The problem? The financial package came in below the eye‑watering proposal he had on the table before he last renewed with Liverpool.

So he has pushed back.

According to Marebpress, Salah has laid out three non‑negotiables:

• An annual salary and financial benefits that match his global standing and marketing power.
• A contract of two or three years to secure stability in what could be the final prime stage of his career.
• A move only to a club with a serious sporting project – one that can genuinely compete for major trophies, not simply make up the numbers.

Saudi Arabia may be willing to spend, but Salah clearly wants more than a retirement payday. He wants a stage worthy of his name.

Lovren vs Carragher: the fallout turns personal

If the transfer saga is complex, the emotions around Salah’s Liverpool exit are even more raw.

Many supporters would have preferred to see him stay until 2027 and leave as a free agent after a full decade of service. Instead, Liverpool are already plotting life after their No 11, with Yan Diomande identified as their primary attacking target.

Yet the real firestorm has erupted off the pitch.

Dejan Lovren, Salah’s closest friend in football and a former Liverpool defender, has launched a fierce defence of the Egyptian and a pointed attack on Jamie Carragher and other pundits over their criticism of Salah’s final season.

Speaking to Winwin, Lovren did not hold back.

“The way they treated him this season is not harsh. It’s disgusting,” he said. “Why didn’t they talk about him like this for the past eight or nine years? Tell me… OK, one season, and then he’s the target again. There are so many other issues.”

Lovren accused some pundits of using Salah as a lightning rod for their own profile.

“He’s being really heavily criticised. Some pundits do it just to attract attention, maybe because they haven’t succeeded in other areas of their lives, so now they need to perform well… especially Carragher, he says whatever he wants.

“I always said he should tell him this to his face, say all these things to Mo to his face.

“He’ll never say that. Because I know he never will, because he never said it to me. He’s talked badly about me too, but he never said that to me anyway. You know, he’s just performing on TV and he gets paid for it, so he needs to perform this way.”

Slot in the firing line

Lovren did not stop at the pundits. He went straight for the dugout.

“I don’t think it’s the management (that pushed Salah to leave). I think it’s just one person, and I think it’s just the manager,” he said. “They didn’t have a good relationship. Let’s put it simply.

“With Klopp, he had a really good relationship. It wasn’t always perfect, but they knew each other very well, let’s say that too, and they trusted each other, they liked each other, and Mo gave everything on the pitch for Klopp, and Klopp gave him that trust.

“But (with Slot) it was the opposite. It’s that simple, and everyone knows it because when you look at the previous eight or nine seasons, he did really well.”

In Lovren’s eyes, Salah was not just let down by the manager. He was left exposed by the dressing room too.

“There are other players who should also take responsibility and say, ‘yes, this is my fault’, but you know, some players never came forward,” he said.

“There was mismanagement; internally, they didn’t handle it well. They didn’t handle it well. Even if you have some problems, you have to talk about it in the dressing room, and like I said, Mo never felt that support.

“He was always the front-page headline, ‘Ah, it’s Mohamed Salah, don’t be surprised.’ I mean… it’s a deep-seated issue.”

A superstar at a crossroads

So Salah stands on the brink: a Liverpool legend out the door, a Saudi move lined up but not yet sealed, and a former teammate raging on his behalf.

The money in Saudi Arabia will be there. The ambassadorial role will be there. The question now is whether a club can match his demands on the pitch as well as off it – and whether, after the bitterness of his Anfield farewell, he can find a project that truly feels worthy of the player he still believes he is.