Saudi clubs ready to vie for Mohamed Salah’s signature as frenzy of speculation begins

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While there will be some attention on whether he can end a hugely successful nine-year spell with a trophy, clicks worldwide will be focused more on his next destination.His former fellow forwards Sadio Mané and Roberto Firmino left Europe for Saudi Arabia (though with mixed results as the Senegalese star is still playing well at Al-Nassr and the Brazilian has left for Qatar) and it is a path that Salah may well take too.The Saudi media certainly hopes so and the belief is that the country is in pole position. Cristiano Ronaldo had joined Al-Nassr a few months earlier but in that first summer Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kanté, Neymar, Riyad Mahrez and many others headed to Riyadh and Jeddah.Three years on most of them remain though there has been a change of tack by clubs (including the “Big Four” of Al-Hilal, Al-Nassr, Al-Ittihad and Al-Ahli, who are owned by the country’s Public Investment Fund – PIF), to go for younger players.

The defending champions have had a poor season, however, one made worse by losing Benzema to Al-Hilal in January. Al-Ahli, the other club in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia’s football hotbed, are Asian champions but also have Mahrez in fine form.In the capital, Al-Hilal is another possibility with Malcom on the right inconsistent.

Photograph: Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty ImagesAs Ronaldo reportedly went on strike this season as he thought Al-Nassr were not getting the same support as the other PIF clubs, it would be interesting to see his reaction if Salah went to their bitter rivals Al-Hilal. “Because I’m Muslim and this is a Muslim country, and I have always wanted to live here,” Benzema said when asked why he joined Al-Ittihad.Whatever Salah’s reasons, if the Liverpool legend does join a club in Saudi Arabia this summer, he will become the face of the league for years to come.