David Ornstein (3:09)

To me it wasn't, no. It was something we expected to come at some point. Memories tend to evaporate quickly sometimes. How bad? It was in December when he came out post Leeds and kicked off and then the discussion was has he played his last game for Liverpool? He invited his family over for the last match at Anfield before going off to the afcon and that was supposedly a farewell. Liverpool's stance was always that he's not leaving and especially after the Alexander Isak injury, they wanted him to stay. They needed him at that point to stay. But it's a two year contract, but there's a conversation to be had and every chance that there'll be a parting of the ways. To me that felt a matter of when, not if he was going to be going. What was surprising is that nobody knew that it was going to be announced on that particular day by Salah, by Liverpool, and it's more a seismic end to the era than a seismic shock that he's going.

Ayo Akamolere (4:05)

And was this a mutual decision then?

David Ornstein (4:07)

Information coming from Anfield suggests that this was Mo Salah's call, that he instigated this. But I think you need to look at the context and the broader perspective of why might he have instigated it if indeed he did? And that's because since signing his new contract, things have changed and they've not gone as well as had been expected. His game time was becoming limited. He was left on the bench, what was it, five games in a row ahead of hitting out post Elland Road. So in that climate of Mo Salah having been the main man for Liverpool for so many years and I don't know of any guarantees being given to him about a starting space, in fact I would suggest they were not given to him when he signed that new contract. His expectation, given his quality and his caliber and his mentality is to be playing and starting regularly. Maybe he also felt that the team would be built around him post summer with all the new signings. That wasn't really the case. You've got Ekhetike coming in, Isak coming in. It's a front line that was shaped very differently I think. Think Liverpool very much liked Antoine Semeno. If they could have got him, well that would have sort of been for Mo Salah's position. He lost some close teammates. Luis Diaz for example, departing this terribly sad death of Diogo Jota, somebody he was close to. And things had shifted. They were not the same anymore. And in that environment, clearly the end was coming. And you could say that, you know, it was him who at Ellen Road sort of got the ball rolling for a departure. Liverpool aren't going to be getting a transfer fee for him. They will save on his salary. It allows him to go and pursue other tasks rather than getting involved in a negotiation. It's recognition of his service that they've waived any chance of a transfer fee. And it was most sensible for both parties to do that because it's clear that the final year of his contract didn't make sense. So there are mutual elements to it. But in terms of the actual decision, we're told that was Salahs. But there's so much more to it than that.

Ayo Akamolere (6:13)

Yeah, definitely. I definitely want to talk to you about what this means for, for Liverpool in terms of taking him off their wage. Bill as well a little later on. David Oli, let's talk about Mo Salah's numbers this season because look, this was a player they bought for what, 36.9 million pounds from Roma at the time. And it's fair to say that, you know, he's paid dividend on that price even more in many respects. But this season his drop off has been quite huge. You know, last season he registered 47 goal involvements. That's 29 goals and 18 assists. This season that number is weighed down at 11. Based on that and based on a lot of the nuances David has spoken about, was this inevitable? That perhaps this was going to be his last season?

Oli Kay (6:55)

Yeah, I think from an early stage it has felt like there might be a break at the end of the first season of a two year contract. But it's not just about Salah. I think if you looked at Liverpool's squad this season to last season, I think all of Them have had a big drop off perhaps with the exception of Dominik Szoboszlai who maintained a standard rather than made an enormous leap. But I think everybody else has struggled and I think Salah is the one who struggled most. And David is right to mention the Diogo Jota tragedy and how that might have affected him because you go back to Salah's reaction, his statement on Instagram was how he just felt terrified, frightened of going back to Liverpool. He didn't know how things were ever going to be the same again. You looked at his reaction after that opening game against Bournemouth at Anfield that Friday night back in August and he'd scored right at the end of the game but he was, he was in tears in front of the cop as, as they were singing Jota's song. And add that to the fact it's been a struggling team. Add that to the erosion I think of, of his relationship with, with Arna Slot. Loss of confidence, loss of sharpness and the passing of time and he's. He's 33. I think he's looked a completely different player this season for all those factors, for all those reasons and he struggled. He really has struggled. It's. It's been an awkward situation where you were feeling, well, what are Liverpool going to do about Salah at the end of the season? Are they going to sell him? Are they going to be able to sell him? Is that going to be a difficult conversation with. Are they going to be kind of pushing him out as he was alleging back in, in November on it. It looks like a mutual decision has been reached to go their separate ways and I just hope for him and for everybody involved really that he goes out on a high.

Ayo Akamolere (8:36)

David, can we talk business really quickly because Liverpool are, you know, second when it comes to the highest wage bills in the Premier League and Mo Salah is on a fair bit of money. It's a really bumper contract. What does this mean for Liverpool in general now he's off their wage bill?

David Ornstein (8:53)

Yeah, it helps them a lot from a financial perspective. You remember we recorded many pods on it at the time. The dilemma Liverpool had about giving him that deal and in particular Fenway Sports Group, fsg the ownership, because they don't normally hand out contracts to players of that age. They did similar with Virgil Van Dijk and that was a huge drain on, on their resources. It didn't stop them spending very heavily in the market but it would affect their PSR financial fair play position. Of course that now changes to another acronym in Squad cost ratio or score cost rule S C R and they went into that contract in good faith. And Mo Salah felt he could continue to excel at the top level. His numbers were outrageous. Last season Liverpool were successful. Not a single person that I know was saying they shouldn't give it to him. Let's not rewrite history. He was in amazing physical and technical shape and of course there would have been some concerns. But the way Liverpool and most top clubs would analyze these things and run the data and look at his condition and forecast where it was going, it was understandable to continue the banner on the cop. Give Mo his dough and it feels like it's gone wrong pretty much ever since. And maybe some credit that it's been brought to a head by all parties. It had run its course. There was seemingly no real legitimate reason to continue into next season. To answer your question specifically, it's going to give them more scope on maybe contract renewals. We know they're, they're in a conversation that seems to be a bit of an impasse with Ibrahima Konate. There's no breakthrough at this point in time. But we saw when, when Trent Alexander Arnold departed that was a salary saving that allowed Liverpool some of their maneuverability in the market and they're going to need to replace him. There's going to need to be a transfer fee, there's going to need to be salary outlay nowhere near the level of Salah. But there's other areas that need to strengthen in the team and I expect this to be a more measured transfer market than last summer. Now I would see it reverting to type, but something like this of course eases the purse string somewhat. And although his departure will be a source of great sadness for Liverpool fans, it does provide them with a slightly better financial outlook in the immediate term to do what they want to do.

Ayo Akamolere (11:13)

Okay, let's quickly ask that question. Ollie, where could he go next? I've just seen Antoine Griezmann sign for the MLS for next season. Big player going to the mls. Messi, you know, is on his way out at some point of the mls. But also the Saudi conversation will always keep reverberating around Mo Salah and anything

Oli Kay (11:29)

we've heard, nothing enormously significant. I don't think over the last 24 hours or, or since this, since this news came out. I mean I think the, the interest from Saudi Arabia has been there all along and is not likely to go away. Al Ittihad, one of the four sovereign wealth fund owned clubs, PIF owned Clubs made a big move for him in the summer of 2023 and I think have always been regarded as the Saudi club best positioned to go for him again. So I think that's probably one to watch. MLS has been rumoured in the past and yeah, as you say, there are vacancies potentially arising and you think what it might do in terms of the MLS's profile in the Middle east and North Africa if the real football superstar of the Arab world world were to move to mls. And then of course closer to home, you wonder about whether there might be another move in Europe.

Ayo Akamolere (12:19)

Can anyone afford him though? He's on a lot of money. I mean that's the bigger one about Europe, isn't it? Maybe the Premier League, but farther afield. I mean his wages are probably enough for a whole squad at some point.

Oli Kay (12:29)

Absolutely. And you know, a club like PSG would have been considered a likely destination in the past, but perhaps less so now that they genuinely have gone down the road of younger players. One thought that crossed my mind this morning was Barcelona. You know, I think there's a fine tradition in Barcelona of left footed players cutting in from the right hand side to score. You know, they've got this nucleus of really good younger players but they've not been shy of signing older players and looking towards that free transfer kind of market. Lewandowski is, I think in the in the final months of his contract would there would there be a potential rejig of his role? Maybe Yamal move centrally? I don't know. Barcelona seems to be not the craziest suggestion, but I am completely speculating and fantasizing there.

David Ornstein (13:12)

I'd love to see that Mo Salah at Barcelona. It does raise one obvious problem given their current resources at Barcelona is that Mo Salah clearly deems himself capable of playing at the top level for longer. That's why he signed his new contract at Liverpool. And I doubt his mindset has changed that dramatically. He's going to a World cup, he's in decent shape, yet his performances have not been as good as what they were. And he may need to reinvent himself somewhat because whatever's been happening this season has not been working to the way we know. And I wouldn't better get against him reinventing and tweaking his game to be capable of excelling for longer. But that probably requires the regular game time that it appears he wouldn't be getting at Liverpool, at least anywhere near this level it was prior. If he does want things to be built around him, and I don't say that in an arrogant way but maybe the way that Liverpool are reshaping their front line was, was not so suited to him then going into somewhere like a Barcelona, you're not going to get that there either. But it is a romantic vision. PSG are just stacked with youth and numbers. They've never actually, when we've made checks around Salah bitten on that one. It doesn't appear to have been high up their agenda. And elsewhere in Europe, I don't know Roma would be quite romantic returning there. I don't think he'll play for a different Italian club. I've, I've checked on, on some of the reports that have come out before we recorded this on, on Juventus being keen. They played it down to me. I don't think an AC Milan would be on his agenda. So Saudi Arabia obviously there's been the historic interest Al Hilal, our ITI had and I would assume that moving to that part of the world carries its appeal given it's closer to home. What we don't know are Saudi clubs coming back in for him. They've not succeeded in the past for whatever reason. And does that appetite remain? It's not far fetched but it's also speculative and that's why a number of conversations I've had whether it's ideal for Salah or not have pointed to mls. There's a club in San Diego with Egyptian ownership, relatively new expansion club. There's the leading lights of the Inter Miamis, the LA Galaxies and various others. Does he want to go over to the States and take his family over there at this point it's really interesting that he has made this announcement without as his agent Rami Abbas put on social media knowledge of where he's going next normally and I've had loads of messages on this. If an announcement comes at this time of the year for a player like Mo Salah or indeed say a Trent, Alexander, Arnold for example, they know where they're going even if it's not announced yet. They've got a clear vision, maybe agreements are in place and that has given the club and the individual the comfort, the confidence to be able to announce this. Now I believe Rami Abbas I don't think there is a defined destination and maybe Mo Salah is just. Is just comfortable with that now. Maybe a little bit of a weight lifted. Go to the World cup with Egypt, see how your form is, see what options arise. No pressure, no sort of huge rush on, on timings and see how this evolves. There will be takers a player of his quality, but there are also many factors that actually make it more complicated than you might immediately think.

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Ayo Akamolere (19:52)

Well, Mo Salah has racked up 255 goals for Liverpool in 435 games, making him the fourth highest goalscorer in the Premier League era. Mark, this guy is a phenomenal player. Good to have you with us. Talk us through some of his numbers.

Mark (Football Analyst) (20:11)

Yeah, I mean you stole one of them. That introduction of his numbers there. I think there's so many. It's knowing sometimes where to start. It feels like every week there is another one and I can do little more than kind of just read them out as much as anything because it is just superb just how many records he's got and the sheer numbers of it. So 281 total goal contributions in the Premier League League for Liverpool. That's the most any player has had for a single club in in Premier League history. No one's had more Premier League goals, which is 189assists at 92since he signed for Liverpool in 2017. You can see there's obviously a theme of no player has had more. It is the most of all of this. He has had the most goal contributions in a 38 game Premier League season. Of course, that was last season. I think you mentioned it before. 47 direct goal involvements. That's 29 goals and 18 assists. Four Premier League Golden Boots on four separate occasions. That was his first season. 2017-1820-1819-2021, 22 and of course last season, 24, 25. That's the. Yeah, the joint heist alongside Thierry Henry, which I think is then worth speaking about. With that in mind, in terms of you think of Thierry Henry as one of, if not the greatest player to play in the Premier League only I think as time passes we'll really truly appreciate Salah's records. When you look back at it, not necessarily just in the immediate term. 255 goals for Liverpool in all competitions. That's the third highest total in the club's history and they've had a lot of good players. That's only behind Roger Hunt and 285 goals. And of course Ian Rush on 346. And I think Salah said as much that he was never going to quite reach Ian Rushes. But I think had things maybe been different and he'd stayed for another year, he maybe probably would have hunted down Roger Hunt. No pun intended.

David Ornstein (21:55)

You intended that very well.

Oli Kay (21:57)

Come on, Mark.

Mark (Football Analyst) (21:58)

Honestly, honestly, didn't these things just come to me? But no one in Liverpool's history has scored more than Salah in European fixtures as well. He's got 53 in total, 48 coming in the Champions League. And he's got the most goals, which is no surprise, most goals by any African player in Premier League history as well. And it just feels as well that anything that's not a record from Mo Salah is met with a surprise as much as anything. But then anytime a player does something that's of interest in recent years, it's often sort of started with the caveat of only Mo Salah has more insert metric here than whatever it may be, which only just goes to show that he's doing it. And as I say, looking back in terms of the legacy, when time will allow us to do that, I think then we'll really, truly appreciate even some of the records that he's hold, let alone some of the more niche ones as well.

Ayo Akamolere (22:47)

Yeah. David, how do you go about replacing a player like this? Talisman, assists, goals, contributions, records. I mean the list goes on. I mean this is a bit of a unicorn player, one of those players that most teams wish they had but inevitably these players have to move on and go somewhere else. But finding someone like this, oh, goodness me. I mean, I guess recruitment and all that, but it's a lot.

Athletic FC Podcast Host (23:12)

Yeah.

David Ornstein (23:12)

Liverpool have got one of the most advanced recruitment departments around and most of their work speaks for itself. It's not perfect but that they've got good operators there and they've Signed and sold pretty well over the years. I know that this current regime is still relatively new, but some of the protagonists led by Michael Edwards have been there previously and a number of them have come back having also, like Edwards, left towards the end of the Jurgen Klopp era. They gave us a hint, didn't they Liverpool of what they would like to do because they were in the market for Antoine Semenyo. I think if his release clause had been in place last summer then they could well have activated it, that was my understanding. But it wasn't. It was only active in January and he ended up going to Manchester City. That would have been part, I think obviously Luis Diaz departing and not being replaced, but they backed Rio Ngoa to have a bit of a pathway through on that left side. But the possibility that the end is coming for Salah, you know, he signed a two year contract so succession planning needs to take place even then start to build the squad for the future. So that's obviously the, the sort of profile when you look around who there might be. I mean they like Diamonde, RB Leipzig, that's a player that they've been keen on for some time. When I've looked into it previously, the finances have been out of reach or deemed out of reach and they're not the only club in that regard. Also, does he see himself coming to Liverpool? It seems like he's going to have a vast choice of clubs and so there's no guarantee on somebody like him from a financial or a preference point of view. Who else? I really like Ryan at Bournemouth. A fantastic signing that many of the even bigger clubs and biggest clubs are kicking themselves at because they could have got him for a pretty low fee. And Bournemouth swooped in and They've got a 100 million pound release clause on his head. I'm a massive fan of his profile and attributes and it would seem to be the sort of fit that Liverpool or others in the market for that sort of player would go for. But that is a steep price to pay for a guy that's just come to the Premier League. So there will be options out there, they'll be surveying them. The way it was described to me is the process really ramps up now, obviously sort of insinuating it wasn't already advanced, but I think Liverpool would have been making checks and doing their work on this for some time. It's a huge moment for the Richard Hughes's of this world, Sporting director Michael Edwards above him and of course Arna Slott will be a voice within that Significant one too. All our information despite reports to the contrary is that Liverpool are sticking with Arneslot. There's no thought to changing coach that they are planning with him and their priority, their focus is to give him the profile of squad to succeed. I'm not here to defend on a slot. Liverpool season has been poor by their standards, their performances, their results and he is at the center of that. But if you look at the range of factors on and off the pitch it's remarkable and I'm not surprised that Liverpool want to give him longer Arne slot has the profile as let's not forget we saw last season when he led Liverpool to the league title the sort of profile that they want to manage the club and so he will be a massive part of their recruitment decision making too.

Ayo Akamolere (26:25)

Yeah, a stat that's caught my eye. Oli the athletics Dunkel Alexander has written including Manchester United players, Mo Salah is the eighth highest Premier League scorer at Old Trafford in the 2000 and 20s. He's wrapped up 10 goals. Is that surprising?

Oli Kay (26:40)

Only Only eight I bet Manchester United fans probably feel like he should be higher at that list because you know they've not had many reliable goal scorers and Salah seems to score almost every time he goes there and you know, a hat trick and two goals in another game he's. His record is absolutely remarkable. We were talking earlier about, you know, I think Mark was saying about where these figures sort of put him in the in in the pantheon of Premier League greats and it's really hard to pitch that I think because it's definitely hard to evaluate somebody when they're still playing. Sometimes you need a bit more time to pass. Sometimes there can be recency bias. A lot of the time I think with these conversations there's a real nostalgia bias but if you look at just the sheer numbers, don't even look at the quality of the goals or the significance of the goals. You could just look at the numbers and see how many goals he scored compared to other wide players in the Premier League era, how many assists he scored. I mean Ryan Giggs is far and away beyond everybody when it comes to assists. Playing across the time span of his career, which was enormous, it was more than double Salah's but in terms of goals, I mean Salah is far beyond Brian Giggs who played so many more games and it's a different era and it's hard to compare because wingers weren't given the freedom that perhaps Mo Salah has been. But Eden Hazard absolutely phenomenal player, you know, one of the best in the world over a. Over a period. One of the best in the Premier League certainly. But in terms of goals and assists, which is pretty much how you measure an attacking player on their output really, don't you, rather than their showreel. I mean again, Salah just leaves him behind. He's going to leave an enormous void. But I think we've probably seen the beginnings of the void this season because of his struggles and we've seen what a Liverpool team looks like without a fully functioning Mo Salah and I think the time has come, I think to let him move on and be happy somewhere else and replace him with a younger model. But God, it's going to be hard to replace, isn't he?

Ayo Akamolere (28:44)

Well the other element to this is how much Salah is adored by Liverpool fans. Let's hear from John Gibbons from the Anfield Rap on the joy of watching

John Gibbons (28:53)

the Egyptian it is John Givens from the Anfield Rap in our studio all still reacting to the news that Mo Salah will leave in the summer and it is a bit of a shock. We knew the last years of Mo were upon us but now it looks like it's the last months and even weeks that we're going to watch him play and that makes a lot of us sad really because he has brought us so much joy as Liverpool supporters. Every time he's gone onto the pitch he's invariably made something happen. He scored so many goals, created so many goals and of course won so many trophies with Liverpool. So it's going to be slightly strange next season seeing Liverpool without Mo Salah. Obviously a few others of that classic team have moved on already. That front three of Mane, Firmino and Salah, he was the last one sort of left but even of a team of superstars that the young got built, he always felt the one that was, was this global icon. He was a, a huge deal, almost transcended football really. Whatever you went in the world and said you're from Liverpool, used to be the Beatles, they wanted to talk about it now. And more recently it's been Mo Salah and that's what you know, certain footballers do and he's achieved that with what he's done on the pitch and obviously with the help of his teammates I'm sure he'd say as well but I think it's almost the way he's played as well. Always with that smile on his face that got that iconic look. Some iconic celebrations that he's brought out in those really Big moments and he's just been so dependable for Liverpool year after year that they are really going to miss him. You might say that the salah this season isn't too much of a challenge to replace, but the most salah of the last nine years, I mean is almost irreplaceable really. Someone who was that greater delivering week after week and that formidable as opponents for so many defenses was something. So there'll never be a mo another Mo Salah. But Liverpool will move on with who we'll have to wait and see. But I'm grateful that he came to Liverpool. I'm grateful that I got to watch him and I'm going to certainly celebrate him for these next couple of months. For every bit of me that I've got up to that.

Ayo Akamolere (30:55)

Before we move on from this, we have to have a moment to celebrate some of the great moments that Mo Salah has brought to Liverpool fans in general. I remember it was about six years ago they were playing at Anfield and I think Liverpool had so many goals disallowed or chances. And then Mo Salah scores. The absolute winner takes his shirt off and it's something we've got to see. Showing that incredible physique. What about you, Ollie? Greatest Mo Salah moment in the Premier League.

Oli Kay (31:19)

Oh, there were. There were two goals in. In a month in October 2021 where he scored these incredible solo goals. Cutting in through a sort of forest of legs and crowded penalty area to score against Manchester City, Anfield and the Watford Vickeridge Road. I love those two goals. I love the one he scored against Chelsea again cutting in from the left so from the right. And then this time rather than the normal sort of out and then in, it was a sort of outside of the foot missile into the far corner, killed away from the keeper. That, that was a. That was a classic in terms of a moment. The goal against Manchester United in January 2020, which I think really, I think that was the goal that prompted finally the we're going to win the league chance at Anfield which had been probably held in until then. There's this huge euphoric outpouring. And then there's this goal which I don't think any people really talk about in the same way. But it was against Salzburg in the Champions League. And this is on his right foot which he doesn't use very often apart from for standing on and presumably in the car as well. But he got past the goalkeeper and was almost on the byline and scored from such a ridiculous angle. And it's never, it's never mentioned as one of the great Mo Salah goals. But I think for those who would dismiss him as a one trick pony or somebody that only scores one type of goal, it's not the kind of goal I would typically imagine him scoring. And it was a beauty.

David Ornstein (32:48)

David Oli stole my thunder with Chelsea. That was like a laser guided rocket Salah.

TurboTax Spokesperson (32:56)

Oh, Astonishing.

David Ornstein (33:03)

I actually think it's obviously not the most spectacular goal but the penalty to put Liverpool 1 nil up in the Champions League final 2019 that gave essentially Liverpool their, their sixth European cup win came off the back. I was there in Madrid of 12 months previously in Kiev. Him being put out of the final by Sergio Ramos and basically leaving the team pitch in a sling and high emotion. That was such a cruel night. And for him to return and essentially get the winner against Tottenham was sort of justice and was really pleased for him on that night. I also think the joy that he bought to Liverpool fans and wider football through his iconic status, it made him the most iconic figure in recent Premier League history by a mile.

Ayo Akamolere (33:56)

Yeah. Mark, before you go, can you give us one moment of Mo Salah magic for all us to revel up before you head off?

Oli Kay (34:02)

I took about 10 of them, so yeah, sorry, they've probably stolen all your

Ayo Akamolere (34:07)

thunder to be fair.

Oli Kay (34:08)

Yeah.

Mark (Football Analyst) (34:08)

To go last and just quickly have one feels, feels harsh. I mean there was the Everton goal which I think ended up winning the Pusgas award if I'm not mistaken. Which, which was a fantastic goal. I don't think it was necessarily the best in his collection but it, it won an award for that and it just curled it beautifully. And you thought again, maybe was that, if not a fluke that was that repeatable. And if I'm not mistaken, I think he did very similar against Roma in that very same season in the Champions League as well. And it just every, with every sort of goal like that, it just showed that it was more and more sustainable that what he was doing was yeah, going to be for the, for the long term. So he really hit the ground running in that first season and of course never looked back from there. But you could just see with those sorts of goals that this is something that he's going to be able to do and will do for Liverpool for a long time. And then it's interesting, then you come full circle. The Galatasaray goal, while slightly different, was his most recent goal at Anfield. Not too dissimilar in terms of just wrapping his foot around it and going into the top corner. So starting with his first season to the last season or the latest season or what now is last season, he's able to do it and been able to do it for such a long time.

Ayo Akamolere (35:17)

All right Mark, appreciate your time as always. Thanks for that, some nice stats and also a lovely moment to end it with as well. Cheers mate.

Mark (Football Analyst) (35:24)

Cheers guys.

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Pablo Torre (36:29)

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John Gibbons (36:44)

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Oli Kay (37:26)

Foreign.

Athletic FC Podcast Host (37:33)

You're listening to the Athletic FC podcast with Ayo Akamolere.

Ayo Akamolere (37:37)

Well, Salah's announcement comes days after the Athletic reported FSG have shelved their plans to buy a second club. David, and please follow on. Ollie, how much uncertainty is there over the direction right now that this club is heading in?

David Ornstein (37:51)

Well, until we know their exact intentions, it's quite hard to speculate on that because there's interest from Al Hilal in Richard Hughes for example, as sporting director. They definitely want to make big and prominent appointment to Al Hilal, whether that's Richard Hughes or somebody else. But there's so much uncertainty that we talked about with Mo Salah in relation to the Saudi Pro League that would apply presumably to executives as well. There are suggestions in football which are now coming out in reports that Al Hilal want Michael Edwards as well as almost a double team. And in the wake of Athletic revealing that the second club project is sort of mothballed. What does that mean for Michael Edwards in terms of the reason he came back and some of the other people who joined the club for that specific project? Do they leave? Do they get redeployed to other work? Are they I'm sure already doing other bits and bobs within the club structure? It's not ideal, it's not helpful and I do speak to people that think there will be change in that department and then you start to think well who's the next sporting director, who's the next chief executive of football? I think that's taking leaps beyond where we should go at this point. They remain in position for the time being. There's no suggestion that they are close to an agreement that they are departing and I would assume it's not information, it's just quite obvious point that they will want to keep that structure as tight as possible for the time being FSG so that they can manage this sort of reset or whatever it might be the, the next step with. With honor slots in their mind this summer with. With really building the squad that they invested in so heavily last time round with such change because there were were outgoings as well that bring that net spend that people talk about so much. But, but that was, that was remarkable upheaval for Liverpool and you know, they feel that they've done multiple transfer windows work in one summer so they really need that to bed in this time round. Hopefully for them with a bit of success. But it's not looking highly likely at the moment. And so to lose your sporting executives who help bring the Premier League title and, and build the post Klopp era will surely not be at the top of the agenda. But clearly the speculation and the real interest from elsewhere and uncertainty given the second club situation is not ideal and maybe some clarity is needed from the top of the club. We talk with many clubs about how a fish rots from the head. It's ultimate responsibility at ownership level, and that sets the tone that permeates and filters down on and off the pitch. And there's scrutiny, you know, there's a lot of unhappy supporters. And it's a very interesting and maybe a bit of a delicate time for the club.

Ayo Akamolere (40:36)

Yeah, it feels like a club in flux, doesn't it, Oli?

Oli Kay (40:38)

It does, yeah. And it's funny because when Jurgen Klopp announced just over two years ago that he was leaving, the club was definitely in a state of flux at that point. Obviously no manager or manager outgoing, various contracts with key players coming towards an end, no sporting director at the time, there were real doubts about who was going to be making these decisions and whether they would go well, whether there would be a period of real upheaval that would be reflected on the pitch. And you look at what Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes did with the appointment of on a slot, it went so, so well in the first season. They retained Virgil van Dijk, they retained Mo Salah. Obviously they lost Trent, Alexander, Arnold in the end. They didn't really do much in the transfer market that first summer and it just seemed to have stabilized completely. And I think what they've ended up doing and having to do because a lot of issues had come to a head that have built up over a longer period of time, they had to do an awful lot in the transfer market last year. You can look at, you know, some of the outgoings and think, did they really need to do that? But you could also look at some of the gaps they've had in the squad and wonder whether they could and should have done even more in the transfer market last summer. So there is upheaval, there is a certain instability or a threatened, looming instability. So in one sense, Mo Salah's departure will add to that, but in another sense, I think it probably enables them to find that replacement and bring a real goal threat, bring a real creative threat and reshape that sort of threat from wide areas.

Ayo Akamolere (42:17)

All right, gents, let's leave it there. Mark, Ollie, David, really appreciate your time and also thank you guys for joining us as well. We'll catch you soon.

Athletic FC Podcast Host (42:29)

You've been listening to the Athletic FC podcast. The producers were Guy Clark, Mike Stavro and Jay Beal. The executive producer was Aiden Moorhead. To listen to other great athletic podcasts for free, search for the Athletic on Apple Spotify and all the usual places. The Athletic FC Podcast is an athletic media company.

Mark (Football Analyst) (42:46)

Production.

Oli Kay (42:53)

Foreign.

Pablo Torre (43:00)

Hi, this is Pablo Torre from Pablo Torre finds out and today I want to talk to you about Boost Mobile because we spend a lot of time analyzing inefficiencies in sports, overvalued contracts, money tied up in the wrong places, and so on. But those inefficiencies aren't just on a roster. Sometimes they're in your own monthly expenses. Boost Mobile says switching to their $25 Unlimited Forever plan can unlock up to $600 in savings a year. That's $25 a month for unlimited data, talk and text when you bring your own phone. If that money is trapped in a pricey phone bill, it might be worth a second look. Visit boostmobile.com to learn more. After 30 gigabytes, customers may experience slower speeds. Customers pay $25 per month as long as they remain active on the Boost Mobile Unlimited Plan Savings claim, based on a January 2026 Boost Mobile survey of 1,000Americans with single line unlimited plans, comparing average annual payments of major carriers to 12 months on the Boost Mobile Unlimited Plan. For full offer details, visit boostmobile.com

TurboTax Spokesperson (43:59)

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