Mohamed Salah's Emotional Farewell at Anfield

Mohamed Salah’s Liverpool farewell is set for Sunday at Anfield. What nobody can say with certainty is whether he will spend it on the pitch or watching from the bench.

Arne Slot is not giving anything away.

The Liverpool manager was pressed on Friday on the one question that has dominated the buildup to the Premier League finale against Brentford: will Salah definitely play?

“I never say anything about team selection,” Slot said. “It would be a surprise to you if I did this right now, I think.”

So the curtain is coming down. The script is still unwritten.

A legend, leaving under a cloud

Salah is not just another player preparing for a lap of appreciation. He is one of Liverpool’s greatest scorers, a symbol of an era, a forward whose goals and relentlessness helped define the club’s modern identity.

Yet his ninth and final season at Anfield has turned into a strained goodbye.

In March, the 33-year-old confirmed he would leave at the end of the campaign after agreeing with the club to terminate his contract a year early. That alone would have made Sunday emotional. The weeks since have added an edge.

Salah’s output has dipped, enough for Slot to drop him for a spell late last year. It was a brutal call for a player of his stature, and the reaction was just as stark. He accused the club of having “thrown me under the bus,” a rare public rebuke from a usually tightly controlled figure.

The relationship has not exactly thawed since.

“Heavy metal” demand lights the fuse

The tension spiked again after last Friday’s 4-2 loss to Aston Villa, a defeat that damaged Liverpool’s push for Champions League qualification and exposed the fault lines in Slot’s first season.

Salah went public with his frustration at the team’s approach, calling for a return to the “heavy metal attacking” that once terrified opponents. It was a pointed reference to the relentless, high-octane football that had become Liverpool’s calling card.

It was also the second time this season he has clashed in public with Slot.

For a manager trying to lock down a top-four place, it was the last thing he needed. For a fan base preparing to salute one of its icons, it added a layer of awkwardness to what should have been a straightforward farewell.

Anfield’s long goodbye

So Anfield will rise to say goodbye on Sunday. The question is what, exactly, it will be applauding.

Will it be the Salah who tore through defenses for years, given one last chance to thrill the Kop? Or the Salah whose final act is to watch from the sidelines, his influence now more symbolic than tactical?

Slot’s refusal to commit suggests he will pick the team purely on what he believes serves Liverpool’s immediate need: securing Champions League football. Sentiment may have to wait.

Either way, the scene will carry weight. A modern great, a complicated exit, a club still chasing its targets.

Liverpool and Salah will part ways after this weekend. The only thing left to discover is whether his final image at Anfield is with the ball at his feet or a tracksuit on his back.