BBC names most likely next destination for departing Salah

Seeing Mo Salah in another shirt will be strange enough for all of us, but the next question is already impossible to avoid: where does he actually go from here?

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That is the issue BBC Sport’s Aadam Patel has now examined, and while there are a few possible routes on paper, one destination feels more realistic than the others at this stage.

Saudi Arabia looks like the obvious next step for Salah

Speaking via BBC Sport, Patel made it clear that Saudi Arabia is the first place to look when assessing where the Egyptian could end up next.

“Saudi Arabia is undoubtedly the first place to consider as his most likely destination.”

That won’t exactly come as a shock given the history here, with Al-Ittihad having already seen a £150m bid rejected by Liverpool back in 2023.

The wider attraction is obvious too, because Salah isn’t just a superstar footballer, he is also a huge figure across the Middle East and Arab world, something the Saudi Pro League will fully understand.

BBC Sport also points to the financial side, with football finance expert Kieran Maguire stating that the league could afford him “without a doubt”, which removes one of the biggest barriers immediately.

There is also the Brendan Rodgers angle at Al-Qadsiah, although the real financial power still sits with the Saudi league’s biggest state-backed clubs.

MLS and Europe remain options, but Saudi still feels strongest

Patel also outlines MLS as a possible route, especially given the league’s designated player model and public encouragement from commissioner Don Garber.

That path would make sense commercially, but the wages would not come close to what Saudi Arabia could offer.

Europe, meanwhile, is a more complicated conversation.

“If he was to move in Europe, then the realistic options are Paris St-Germain, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Barcelona but the proposition would have to be attractive enough for him.”

That sounds glamorous, but it also feels less straightforward, particularly when Mo Salah’s own agent has already warned supporters to beware of anyone pretending they know where he is going next.

That point matters, because for now there is still no confirmed decision.

Still, based on the analysis provided by BBC Sport, the strongest reading is clear.

Saudi Arabia looks like the likeliest destination, with MLS the alternative and a top-level European stay probably the hardest deal of all to make happen.

As Jamie Carragher said though, wherever our Egyptian King goes it will be a loss for us and the Premier League as a whole.

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