Mohamed Salah warns against US move as MLS clubs eye Egyptian footballer football news

Egyptian official says Liverpool star will fade away if he chooses MLS as San Diego FC owner welcomes compatriot.

Egypt national team director Ibrahim Hassan has cautioned Mohamed Salah against a move to Major League Soccer (MLS) after leaving Liverpool at the end of the season, as it would send the forward into obscurity.

Salah, 33, has still to decide on his next move after completing a hugely successful nine-year tenure at Liverpool, where he won two Premier League titles and the Champions League.

MLS commissioner Don Garber has said that he would like to see Salah in the league, although it is unclear whether any teams in the league will attempt to sign him.

“Personally, I would like him to stay in Europe,” Hasan told On Sports. “I have heard about offers from Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), Bayern Munich and clubs from the Italian league.

“A move to the Major League? He would be too far from the spotlight. You wouldn’t miss Salah as much as I miss (Lionel) Messi, I don’t even try to watch him anymore.”

After trophy-laden stints with Barcelona and PSG, Argentina captain Messi joins Inter Miami in 2023, months after winning the World Cup, becoming the club’s all-time top scorer.

Hassan said that if Salah decided not to stay in Europe then the Saudi Pro League would be a suitable option.

“If he doesn’t get offers from Europe, going to the Saudi league would be a good option, especially with big names like Cristiano (Ronaldo),” said Hassan, the twin brother of Egypt coach Hossam Hassan.

However, San Diego FC’s billionaire owner Mohamed Mansour believes his Egyptian compatriot would be an “asset” as speculation mounts over the Liverpool forward’s next club.

If he moves to the United States, recent MLS expansion club San Diego FC, which reached the playoff semi-finals in its first season last year, has been heavily linked with Salah, not least because of their British-Egyptian owner, Mansour.

“He’s probably one of the great players today. And any team that gets him, or any country that gets him, he will definitely be an asset,” Mansour told AFP news agency at a summit in Atlanta on Thursday.

Mansour declined to answer whether he was actively trying to recruit Salah or had already announced a move for the striker.

But he added: “Certainly, Mo Salah is someone of whom, as a native of my native Egypt, I am very proud. He is someone who arrived on the world stage as one of the great players.”

“And I think he will, if he decides … wherever he goes, he’ll definitely add a lot to that league, that country and that team. So he’s a guy I’m very proud of.”

Mansour said that whenever Salah plays, the whole of Egypt stops and described the forward as his favorite footballer of all time.

While full of praise for Salah, Mansour stressed that recruiting decisions in soccer are left up to San Diego FC’s sporting director and coaches.

“I let the people in charge decide,” he said.

Salah is currently out with injury and will miss Egypt’s ongoing training camp in preparation for the World Cup in North America.

Egypt will 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 along with Belgium, New Zealand and Iran at the World Cup from June 11 to July 19.