The head of the Saudi Pro League says Mohamed Salah is a target for clubs in the kingdom as speculation rages that the Egyptian is headed for the Anfield exit.
Salah, 33, did not travel with the rest of the Liverpool squad for Tuesday's Uefa Champions League match at Inter Milan.
It followed his public outburst against Arne Slot following Saturday's 3-3 draw with Leeds United, with Salah saying there had been a breakdown in communication with the head coach.
He also accused Liverpool of "throwing him under the bus" for the club's poor run of form.
Salah had been left out of the starting line-up for Liverpool's three games before being told to stay home for the trip to Italy.
While Slot denied Salah's claims – and left the door open for a return – rumours persist that the Egyptian, third in the club's all-time top scorers' list, will be sold in January.
Salah has long been linked with a move to Saudi Arabia, and chief executive Omar Mugharbel told an audience in Riyadh that clubs had been put on alert and were monitoring Salah's situation.
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Mohamed Salah trains with Liverpool ahead of their Uefa Champions League match away to Inter Milan. AFP -
Liverpool's Egyptian striker Mohamed Salah during training on the eve of their Uefa Champions League match against Inter Milan. AFP -
Dominik Szoboszlai shares a joke with Mohamed Salah during training. AFP -
Liverpool's Mohamed Salah with teammates during training. Reuters -
Mohamed Salah during training on Merseyside. PA -
Liverpool's Mohamed Salah and Dominik Szoboszlai during training. Getty Images -
Liverpool's Mohamed Salah with Dominik Szoboszlai during training. Reuters -
Liverpool attacker Mohamed Salah during training on Merseyside ahead of their Uefa Champions League match in Milan. AFP -
Mohamed Salah during training on Merseyside. AFP -
Mohamed Salah during training on Merseyside. PA
Speaking at the World Football Summit, Mugharbel said: "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]."
Salah only signed a contract extension last summer, tying him to Merseyside until June 2027.
That was done to ward off suitors, with Al Ittihad long credited with an interest in the former Roma player. The Riyadh club reportedly failed with a £150 million bid to lure the Egyptian forward in September 2023.
Saudi sports minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal told Piers Morgan in an interview in January "we'd love to have" Salah move to the SPL, but Mugharbel is the first league official to go on the record about the player since his outburst.
Salah was instrumental in Liverpool's Premier League title success last season, winning the Golden Boot with 29 goals. He has scored 250 goals in 421 Liverpool appearances, but has looked a diminished force with only five goals in his past 20 outings.
'I'd choose Vinicius over Salah'
One league representative not on board with the Salah message is Al Kholood chairman Ben Harburg.
The American, the first foreign owner of a Saudi Pro League club, believes Salah is "a bad fit" for the league, 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," Harburg said at the World Football Summit in Riyadh.
"There's a narrative around him that they asked him to come before and he rejected us. These are not people that like to be spurned and are going to come back around the second time.
"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."
