With Liverpool having already lost Jordan Henderson and Fabinho in the summer, a departure from Saudi Arabia would seriously hamper Jurgen Klopp’s rebuild before the start of the season.
The battle for sixth place seems to be gone already and Liverpool will not regret losing Moises Caicedo. Players who actually chased the money might find themselves regretting their decision months later. Of course, we’ve already heard a lot about Henderson’s wrong move.
All the controversy surrounding his decision to virtually repudiate the LGBT community he once fought so hard for was mocked during his speech to the England team. Gareth Southgate’s loyalty to the former Liverpool captain is staggering at the moment.
Henderson is clearly playing at the same level he was for the Reds earlier this year and with the crowd at Al-Ettifaq dwindling after not winning since October, one has to wonder where Southgate will shoot. But Henderson isn’t the only one not having the best of times in the Middle East.
His former team-mates Roberto Firmino and Fabinho are facing similar struggles and given Firmino’s time in Saudi Arabia, Fabinho is highly unlikely to get off to a good start. Scoring a hat-trick on his Al-Ahly debut against Al-Hazem put the Brazilian on the verge of winning the professional league, but he hasn’t scored since. According to Goal , supporters faced calls to sell the 32-year-old in November, with TeamTalk suggesting at the time that Al Ahly were ready to offload the striker.
This will be Firmino’s last autumn after signing his name to every corner of Anfield just a few months ago. This should be a wake-up call for Mohamed Salah.
Of course, the Egyptian remains a target for the Saudi Arabian Pro League side, and Al Ittihad’s $184 million bid rejected in the summer made the Gulf nation’s intentions clear. Now Italian journalist Rudi Galetti claims that another Saudi club has appeared on the X/Twitter page. His agent has reportedly been “contacted” to explore a possible deal. The fact that Salah turns 32 this year and is entering the final 12 months of his Liverpool contract was enough to suggest that we could be seeing the end of his career.
Season in red. But unlike his former teammates, the winger isn’t showing much sign of slowing down, nor is Klopp showing signs of trying to offload him. He knows how the players see him and if he doesn’t score he can be a threat for us. And that is very important, Klopp said in October. “I don’t think Mo is biologically like that, so I can’t compare him to other 30-year-old players.”
So Saudi Arabia still doesn’t seem like an ideal destination for a player at the top of his game.
Furthermore, Firmino’s personal experience, not to mention the ruthless dismissal of Robbie Fowler despite leading former Liverpool striker Al Khazia to an unbeaten start, shows why this is not a destination for latecomers. .Obviously, there is endless money in the country, so player turnover is likely to be high.
This could soon increase, especially given the regulations that allow clubs to register up to eight foreign players. Salah has a good chance of convincing the team that he is worth keeping, but is it worth the risk? Ultimately, you have to ask the many players who have left Anfield in recent years how difficult it would have been without Klopp. Philippe Coutinho, Gini Wijnaldum, Sadio Mane and others are proof that the grass is not always greener.
Salah is doing enough at Liverpool this season to prove he is worth extending his contract until 2025. A move to Saudi Arabia, at least next year, does not seem like the wisest decision. Because while interest continues to grow, there are many caveats to moving there.
