The Athletic FC: Salah and the ‘rage’ of a spurned star. Plus: implications for the US bidding slowdown in 2027

On By Vaseline

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Hello! Father Time stands in the way of Mohamed Salah. Can the Egyptian still find the bottom corner?

En route…

⏰ Salah, Liverpool and the ticking clock

🇺🇸 Why the US/Mexico swerved 2027 Women’s World Cup

⚽ Must Postecoglou do you care more about set pieces?

🏎France Ferrari without breaks

Mo problem? What to do about the situation in Salah?

The subject of Mohamed Salah’s future is on fire this week – although not so much inside Anfield as outside. Jurgen Klopp is on his way to Liverpool, but expectations that Salah will also leave seem unfounded, regardless of the reasons why a sale of him might make sense.

Let’s discuss the financial matters first. Salah, 31, has done that His contract runs for another twelve months (not that Liverpool are afraid of losing players on free transfers). One club in Saudi Arabia tried to pay £100 million ($126 million) for him a year ago and the increasing pressure of profit and sustainability regulations (PSR) means excessive fees are extremely tempting.

But there’s more to it than money. Neither Salah’s form nor fitness has held up perfectly this season. The diminishing rewards manifested themselves in the spat between him and Klopp on the sidelines during last weekend’s 2-2 draw against West Ham United, a story I wrote about in the newsletter on Monday.

It’s natural to look at this from Liverpool’s perspective, in the context of what their next move should be if Arne Slot is set to succeed Klopp. But what about Salah’s perspective? How does a footballer who is so fantastic deal with the onset of decline?

How does it feel when age comes to you?

Salah is one of the best players the Premier League has ever seen. No one in England really cares about the league’s Hall of Fame – it has none of the relevance of versions in American sport – but Salah will get there one day.

Even this season he scored seventeen goals. He just does not burn at full heathence Klopp has been less religious in using him.

It’s not really a slight on Salah. Very little has passed him by in his career and he has been at Liverpool for seven seasons. Doesn’t time catch up with everyone?

Alan Scheerder, the ex-England international, had the same experience at Newcastle United. Today he writes about his memories of it in his column The Athletics.


(Getty Images; design: Eamonn Dalton)

That feeling when the aging process sends you to the couch? ‘You’re furious, you despise it,’ says Shearer – that seems to be where Salah’s head is now.

What happens now?

Top athletes are not programmed to settle for what they have. I remember hearing cyclist Thibaut Pinot talk about his popularity in France and worrying that he was “more popular than talented.”

Nothing is ever enough.

At his weekly press conference on Friday, Klopp seemed more interested in throwing shade at broadcaster TNT – but on Salah he said the row had been “completely resolved” and painted their set-to as a natural extension of a dip form. To quote Shearer: “As soon as the winning stops, uncertainty arises.”

Some of this will be an extension of Salah’s inner frustration. Shearer says the Egyptian will be “angry with Klopp, angry with the club, angry at everythingincluding himself, that he does not quite reach the same heights.”

However, Liverpool supports him. The game is over for Klopp, but the club believes Salah has at least another season in him.

Four more years: The US postponed the Women’s World Cup, so what happens now?


Fans in the US will have to wait until at least 2031 for the Women’s World Cup to reach the country (Ed Zurga/Getty Images for USSF)

Major tournaments are piling up in the United States, from this summer’s Copa America to the 2026 Men’s World Cup. Before Monday, there was a good chance that the 2027 Women’s World Cup would fall in line.

That was until news a joint US-Mexico bid to host the 2027 showpiece had been withdrawn. The smart money is afoot FIFA awards it to Brazilwith the US-Mexico proposal targeting 2031.

Why the change? One aspect of the US-Mexican field was to equalize the prize money for the men’s and women’s tournaments. FIFA made it clear that there would be no leveling up in 2027. President Gianni Infantino told those pushing for change to “choose the right battles, pick the right fights.”

He has a way with words.

Furthermore, not every potential host city was keen on moving from the 2026 World Cup to another a year later. The turn to 2031 provides more room for planning and implementation fight for financial equality. As Adam Crafton writes, it also creates the potential for the women’s competition expanding from a 32-country lineup.

The bottom line: The Women’s World Cup is returning to the US – just later than planned.

Problems for Postecoglou

Tottenham are going in the wrong direction, mate.

Stimulating topics for Tottenham Hotspur head coach Ange Postecoglou: finishing in the top four of the Premier League and conceding goals from set pieces.

Both are on the agenda after Spurs lost 2-0 at Chelsea on Thursday. Champions League football deviates from Postecoglou and Fourth place is for Aston Villa to lose.

In fairness, no one has demanded the Australian immediately take on Spurs in Europe’s premier club competition, but their defensive record against set pieces is becoming a point of contention, even as he decries questions about it.

Chelsea’s first goal yesterday (below) underlined the problem: zonal marking forced one Spurs player to account for three Chelsea players, while Trevoh Chalobah buried a header. All too easy.

For US readers:

For British readers:

Time for a quiz

Raul, Ruud van Nistelrooy, ?????????Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Robert Lewandowski, ?????????

Two football players are missing. Who are they and what does the list represent?

You can find out here at 11am ET/4pm BST. You will also find the answers in Monday’s newsletter.

All around The Athletics

🇫🇷 Glory leads to scandal in 1990s France. The story of Marseille by Bernard Tapie is a cracker.

❌ Newcastle’s Sandro Tonali is in the middle of one A 10-month ban for betting offences. Now he has been hit with another one, but luckily for him his latest two-month suspension has been suspended. Chris Waugh explains.

🏠 The wind that blows through Manchester United does not only influence the top of the club. Sir Jim Ratcliffe picks up a gavel to the work-from-home culture of the general staff. Good luck with the English rail network, folks.

📺 The EFL’s existing TV rights deal is about to expire. A new agreement with Sky Sports, worth almost £1 billion ($1.25 billion), starts next season. The viewing experience will also change.

Catch a match

Saturday

Arsenal vs Bournemouth (7:30am ET/12:30pm UK)

USA Network, TNT Sports 1

Manchester City vs Wolverhampton Wanderers (12.30pm ET/5.30pm UK)

NBC, Sky Sports main event

Sunday

Liverpool vs Tottenham Hotspur (11.30am/4.30pm)

Peacock Premium, Sky Sports Main Event

(Top photo: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)