Mohamed Salah may have already bid farewell to Liverpool, but the sacking of Arne Slot has reignited hope that the Egyptian will remain at Anfield beyond this summer.
Salah announced in late March that he will leave Liverpool in June after an agreement was reached with the legendary forward to release him from his contract a year early.
The reveal of his pending departure had followed a turbulent few months where Salah gave an explosive interview to reporters after Liverpool's 3-3 draw with Leeds United in December, where he revealed his relationship with manager Arne Slot had broken down and accused the club of "throwing him under the bus".
Salah felt he was unfairly scapegoated by Slot when he was dropped for three games against West Ham, Sunderland and Leeds after Liverpool suffered six Premier League defeats in seven matches.
The Reds legend was subsequently dropped for Liverpool's next game against Inter and there was speculation Salah could leave in the January window, but he later returned from the Africa Cup of Nations insisting he'd made amends with Slot.
Despite an attempt to conceal their fractured relationship, Salah's form never quite improved and nor did Liverpool's, with the Reds scraping into the top five of the Premier League whilst suffering convincing eliminations at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League and Manchester City in the FA Cup.
Adding further insult, Salah was benched for both matches against PSG.
He took one last dig at Slot at the end of the season as the forward appeared to criticise the Dutchman's style of play by calling for the return of "heavy metal football" on his Instagram and X account.
Slot attempted to defuse the situation by insisting that both he and Salah ultimately want the best for Liverpool, but it was no doubt a parting shot from the 33-year-old.
So, with Slot now sacked following an underwhelming campaign, is there a possibility that Salah could stay?
It was revealed by The Athletic that Salah would ideally prefer to remain on Merseyside, but his disintegrated relationship with Slot was a key factor in his pending exit.
Scoring 257 goals in 441 appearances, achieving eight major honours and repetitive rewrites of the record books, Liverpool fans adore Salah and the feeling is undoubtedly mutual.
Whilst it was an extremely difficult season by Salah's extraordinary standards, but the Egyptian is still worshipped on the terraces of Anfield.
Following the Reds' 1-1 draw with Brentford on the final day of the Premier League season, Salah revealed he will make a decision on his club future after the World Cup.
“I am still assessing things. I have time now. I am going to the World Cup and then everything will become clear,” he told beIN Sports.
“If there is a good opportunity before then, I will decide, and if there isn’t, I will make my decision after the World Cup.”
Former Bournemouth coach Andoni Iraola is the man who is set to succeed Slot in the Anfield and one of the first tasks on his agenda will be to have a conversation with Salah.
Were it not for an agreement to sanction Salah's release as a free agent this summer, he would technically still have a year left on his contract after signing a new two-year extension in April 2025.
Liverpool's record Premier League goalscorer still feels he has more to offer at the highest level, even if there was evidence of his regression; he's not as quick as he used to be, and not as sharp in the final third.
There was also an acceptance from Salah that his Liverpool career had concluded at an opportune time.
“Thank God I ended my career with Liverpool in this way. I achieved everything, I leave with people proud of what I did,” he said.
“I feel I put the team back, to a large extent, in the position it deserves among the greats, and that is the most important thing for me.
“Today was very difficult for me psychologically, because it was my last match in a place where I lived for nine years, where I lived the best days of my youth."
The next few weeks are set to be fascinating as Salah assesses his options whilst on World Cup duty with Egypt. Liverpool's third-highest all-time goalscorer is not awash with offers and interest has mostly stemmed from Saudi Arabia.
If Iraola is able to convince Salah that he still has a future at Anfield, it could be one of the most remarkable sporting U-turns.
