Weekend coffee: Liverpool truly no longer needs Salah

What truly marked the end of the relationship between Liverpool and star Mohamed Salah? Pragmatic individuals would immediately conclude: The Egyptian player could no maintain peak performance, and his dismissal is quite normal.

1. Looking back to April last year, the "throne" of Egyptian king Salah seemed untouchable. He had just signed a two-year contract extension after lengthy negotiations. "I've played here for 8 years, hoping for 10," he told LFCTV. He happily explained that his daughter Makka was "the happiest in the family" because she didn't have to move schools away from friends.

At that time, Salah had just experienced one of the greatest individual seasons in English football history. He not only won the Premier League Golden Boot with 29 league goals (34 across all competitions), but was also the top assist provider, with 18 assists in the Premier League (23 assists across all competitions).

During the decade-long trophy drought before signing Salah, Liverpool won only one League Cup. In the 9 years since, he helped the club win 2 Premier League titles, 1 Champions League, 1 Club World Cup, 1 UEFA Super Cup, 1 FA Cup, 2 League Cups, rising to third on the club's all-time scoring list, behind only Ian Rush and Roger Hunt. Alan Shearer, Harry Kane, and Wayne Rooney are the only players in the Premier League era to score more goals than him.

Salah also helped Liverpool equal the record of 20 English league titles in Arne Slot's first season. He also won the Football Writers' Association and Professional Footballers' Association Player of the Year award for the third time.

But there's a detail few noticed: Salah was 34 years old, but Liverpool gave him a two-year contract with the highest salary in the team (£400,000 per week). Another pillar, defender Virgil van Dijk, also received a similar contract (£350,000 per week), despite being 33. Liverpool truly wanted to build the team around them.

2. How many major European clubs have offered a 34-year-old player a contract longer than one year, and even with the highest salary in the team?

Besides Liverpool, only... PSG has done this, with Lionel Messi. But Paris did that to lure him away from Barcelona, not to treat a long-term member.

Real Madrid even has an unwritten rule of not extending contracts for older players beyond one year, and former stalwarts like Fernando Hierro or Raul Gonzalez had to leave without ceremony when their time was up. Manchester City or Chelsea can replace an entire squad within two transfer seasons.

If you're looking for a club clinging to traditional values to a conservative extent, that's Liverpool: They completely refuse selling the naming rights of Anfield or its famous stands to third parties for commercial exploitation. Annually, the club meticulously updates the names of 28,000 season ticket holders and special hospitality members on the two exit tunnel walls.

While many big clubs have raised ticket prices for commercial purposes, Liverpool firmly maintains a fixed price of £9 for children's tickets and tickets for residents of the Merseyside area. For loyal veterans, Liverpool stands by them, no matter the cost.

Jamie Carragher spent his entire career at Anfield. Steven Gerrard only left when he actively wanted to end it. Anyone loyal has an unquestionable place at Anfield. This club builds its values around players with strong loyalty and commitment.

3. Mohamed Salah was once such a person: He rarely appeared in media, always diligent and full of fighting spirit. Manager Jurgen Klopp praised Salah as a "warrior," "always maintaining balance," and "never stopping efforts to prove himself."

Former teammates at Fiorentina and Roma described him as "someone who does everything by the book": Always sleeps early, eats healthily, trains seriously, and never causes trouble.

But after the Egyptian striker publicly criticized the club for "throwing him off the bus" just because he was benched for three consecutive matches, the club understood he could not finish his career here. Salah could not be Gerrard or Carragher. He chose the path of Luis Suarez and Fernando Torres.

Salah's departure from Anfield likely isn't because he's past his prime, as Liverpool treats older players very differently (like giving a two-year extension with the highest salary). Liverpool has a clear choice with a specific value system: Loyalty. And the decision to part with Salah is simply ending a relationship with someone no longer aligned with that value system.