Egyptian official says Liverpool star will fade away if he opts for the MLS as San Diego FC owner welcomes compatriot.
Published On 30 Mar 2026
Egypt’s national team director Ibrahim Hassan has cautioned Mohamed Salah against moving to Major League Soccer (MLS) after he leaves Liverpool at the end of the season, as it would see the forward fade into obscurity.
Salah, 33, has yet to decide his next move after he ends a hugely successful nine-year spell at Liverpool, where he won two Premier League titles and the Champions League.
Recommended Stories
list of 4 itemsend of list
MLS Commissioner Don Garber has said he would love to see Salah in the league, though it is unclear whether any league teams will attempt to sign him.
“Personally, I would prefer him to stay in Europe,” Hassan told On Sports. “I have heard about offers from Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), Bayern Munich and clubs in the Italian league.
“A move to the Major League? He would be far too out of the spotlight. You won’t remember Salah any more than I remember [Lionel] Messi now, I don’t even try to watch him.”
After trophy-laden stints with Barcelona and PSG, Argentina captain Messi joined Inter Miami in 2023, months after lifting the World Cup, and became the club’s all-time top scorer.
Hassan said the Saudi Pro League would be a suitable option if Salah chose not to stay in Europe.
“If he does not receive offers from Europe, then a move to the Saudi league would be a good option, especially with big names such as Cristiano [Ronaldo],” Hassan, twin brother of Egypt coach Hossam Hassan, added.
However, San Diego FC’s billionaire owner Mohamed Mansour believes his Egyptian compatriot would be an “asset” as speculation builds over the Liverpool forward’s next club.
If he does move to the United States, recent MLS expansion club San Diego FC, who reached the playoff semifinals in their debut season last year, have been heavily linked with Salah, not least due to their British-Egyptian owner, Mansour.
“He’s probably one of the great players today. And any team that will get him, or any country that will get him, he will definitely be an asset,” Mansour told the AFP news agency at a summit in Atlanta on Thursday.
Mansour declined to answer whether he is actively trying to recruit Salah or has previously sounded out a move for the striker.
But he added: “Of course, Mo Salah is somebody that, as an Egyptian, my origin, I’m very proud of. He is somebody that reached the world stage as one of the great players.”
“And I think he will, if he does decide … wherever he will go, he will add a lot to that league and to that country and to that team for sure. So he’s somebody I’m very proud of.”
Mansour said the entire Egypt comes to a halt whenever Salah plays and named the forward as his favourite footballer of all time.
While effusive in his praise for Salah, Mansour insisted that footballing recruitment decisions are left to San Diego FC’s sports director and coach.
“I let the people in charge” decide, he said.
Salah is currently sidelined by injury and will miss Egypt’s ongoing training camp as they prepare for the World Cup in North America.
Egypt face Spain in a friendly in Barcelona on Tuesday after a 4-0 win over Saudi Arabia in Jeddah on Friday.
The seven-time African champions are in Group G with Belgium, New Zealand and Iran at the World Cup, which runs from June 11 to July 19.