Mohamed Salah's Next Move: Saudi Arabia or MLS?
Mohamed Salah is in no rush. Egypt are out of the World Cup, his Liverpool chapter has closed a year earlier than planned, and one of the biggest free agents of the summer is quietly weighing up what might be the final defining move of his career.
At 34, Salah has already agreed to terminate his Liverpool contract 12 months early, drawing a firm line under a glittering era at Anfield. Goals, trophies, records – all banked. The next decision is no longer about legacy in Europe. It is about where, and how, he wants to spend the closing stretch of his peak years.
Right now, the picture is clear and stark: Saudi Pro League or Major League Soccer. Europe, for all the enquiries and flirtations, is slipping out of the frame.
Saudi plan years in the making
Saudi Arabia has not been coy about its intentions. The league has spent years sketching out a future with Salah as one of its centrepieces, a marquee figurehead to push its global reach to another level.
Sources indicate there is already a deal in principle with the league itself. The framework is there; the money is there; the desire is unquestioned. What is missing is the badge on the shirt. Salah has not yet chosen his club.
Geography is driving much of his thinking. For a player who has carried Egypt on his shoulders for a decade, proximity to home matters. He is understood to favour teams in the west of Saudi Arabia, close enough to Cairo to make the region feel almost like an extension of home rather than a distant outpost.
That immediately throws the spotlight on Jeddah. Al-Ittihad and Al-Ahli are both seen as especially attractive, with Cairo only around a two-hour flight away. Big clubs, big ambitions, and a route home that does not require a long-haul slog.
Then there is Neom Sports Club, the ambitious project based in Tabuk. Even closer to Egypt, it offers Salah an even easier path back and forth during the season. For a player with strong family and national ties, those details carry real weight.
The Saudi Pro League, for its part, sees him as the missing piece. Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Karim Benzema and others have lit the fuse. Salah, still a global superstar and still a consistent goal threat, would be the one who bridges markets – Europe, the Middle East, Africa – in a way few others can.
MLS waits with its own pitch
Yet this is not a one-horse race. MLS remains firmly in the conversation.
Salah and his representatives have been studying the league carefully. The lifestyle, the commercial pull, the chance to step into a competition that has become a magnet for big names in the twilight of their European careers – all of it has been on the table for some time.
Inter Miami, with David Beckham at the helm and a squad already stacked with star power, have made their interest known. They would love to add the Egyptian to their Florida project. But after landing Casemiro, the numbers and squad balance make a deal complicated. For now, that path looks difficult to turn into reality.
San Diego FC, however, have moved with purpose. The expansion club has positioned itself strongly, and not just with sporting arguments. The ownership matters here. The club is owned by Egyptian-born billionaire Sir Mohamed Mansour, a connection that has gone down well in Salah’s camp.
There is a natural synergy: an Egyptian icon potentially fronting a new MLS project backed by an Egyptian-born owner, in one of the most desirable locations in the United States. The pull of California – its lifestyle, its visibility, its growing football culture – is understood to be strong.
MLS cannot match Saudi Arabia’s financial muscle pound for pound, but it can offer a different kind of stage: a softer landing, a huge commercial market, and the chance to be the face of a franchise in a league that continues to grow in profile ahead of the 2026 World Cup on American soil.
Europe fades into the background
While Saudi and MLS circle with clear, structured proposals, European clubs have not stayed silent. Several have asked the question: would Salah consider one more run at the Champions League, one more stint at the top end of the European game?
So far, the answer is moving towards no. Sources suggest a move within Europe is increasingly unlikely. At this point in his career, the financial, personal, and lifestyle packages on offer from Saudi Arabia and the United States are simply more compelling.
This is not a case of being unwanted in Europe. It is a case of priorities changing. Salah has spent his prime years under the fiercest spotlight in club football. Now, the choice is between two different kinds of super-projects, each tailored to the final act of a global superstar.
A decision that will shape a league
For now, Salah is deliberately taking his time. Egypt’s World Cup exit has freed up his schedule, but not his mind. He understands the weight of this decision – not just for himself, but for whichever league wins the race.
Saudi Arabia offers proximity to home, staggering financial terms, and a central role in a state-backed football revolution. MLS offers lifestyle, long-term commercial upside, and the chance to be a flagship name in a booming market.
What is clear is that his next move will not be back to Europe. The expectation inside the game is simple: the next chapter of Mohamed Salah’s career will be written either under the Saudi sun or on American soil.
Now he just has to decide where he wants his final great stage to be.
