Mohamed Salah to Leave Liverpool After 9 Trophy-Laden Years

Liverpool star Mohamed Salah announced Tuesday he will leave the English club at the end of the season, marking an earlier-than-planned departure for one of the club's greatest-ever scorers and soccer's biggest names.

The 33-year-old Egypt forward, who has scored 255 goals in 435 appearances for Liverpool, "reached an agreement" to quit the team a year before his contract was due to expire, the Premier League champions said.

Salah's form has dipped in his ninth year at Anfield, to such an extent that he was dropped for a stretch of games late last year — leading to the winger telling reporters in an impromptu interview that the club "has thrown me under the bus."

"Unfortunately the day has come," Salah said in a post on Instagram that was released around the same time as Liverpool published a six-paragraph statement announcing the imminent departure of a club great.

"I wanted to start by saying I never imagined how deeply this club, this city, these people would become part of my life. Liverpool is not just a football club. It’s a passion, it’s a history, it’s a spirit. I can’t explain in words to anyone not part of this club."

It's a slightly acrimonious exit for Salah, who has been the superstar name in Liverpool's greatest team in a generation. He has won two Premier Leagues and a Champions League in a total of eight titles since joining from Roma in 2017, initially forming a devastating front three with Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino under manager Jurgen Klopp.

Salah is third in Liverpool's all-time scorers' list, behind Ian Rush and Roger Hunt, and has won the Golden Boot — as the Premier League's top scorer — four times.

Liverpool described Salah as "one of the greatest players in Liverpool’s history" and said his