Mo Salah is wanted in Saudi

Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah is a target for clubs in the Saudi Pro League, confirmed its chief executive Omar Mugharbel

The 33-year-old was left out of the squad that travelled to Inter Milan for Tuesday's 1-0 Champions League win after publicly falling out with manager Arne Slot and the club. Following Saturday's 3-3 Premier League draw at Leeds, Salah said he has been blamed for Liverpool's poor form and his relationship with manager Slot had broken down.

While the Reds boss denied that and said Salah could still return, Mugharbel said clubs in Saudi Arabia are keen to sign the Egypt international. Speaking at the World Football Summit in Riyadh, he added: "Mohamed Salah is welcome in the Saudi League, but it is the clubs that are responsible for negotiating with players. For sure Salah is one of them [a target]."

There have been reports Salah, who signed a two-year contract extension in April, could leave the Anfield club in January. Saudi interest in Salah has long been known, with a reported £150m bid from Al-Ittihad rejected by Liverpool in September 2023, but this is the first time a league official has gone on the record about the player since his outburst.

Not every Saudi club will be interested, with Al-Kholood chairman Ben Harburg calling Salah "a bad fit" and suggesting Real Madrid's Vinicius Jr would be a better signing.

"There's already, even among the public, much more apprehension around his coming into the league. He's 33 years old, he got paid a boatload [at Liverpool] and has underperformed massively since then," Harburg said.

"I'm sure some people like his star power, he's from the region, but my sentiment is that he is not a fit for our league. If it were between him and Vinicius, I'd take Vinicius. I'm hoping we go after those 25-year-old next-wave players rather than guys like Salah, who definitely this would be the last stop of his career."