Mohamed Salah has spent the last eight years making the extraordinary look ordinary. Goals, assists, trophies — week after week, season after season. But in 2025, the question is starting to creep in: is the Egyptian King finally slowing down?
Liverpool boss Arne Slot has admitted Salah is “out of form.” Three goals and three assists in nine games isn’t a crisis, but by Salah’s ridiculous standards, it’s a dip. He was even left out of the starting XI in the Champions League defeat to Galatasaray. Critics — including Wayne Rooney — have called him out for a drop in defensive work and influence. Liverpool’s wider struggles this season only throw more light on him.
And yet… let’s not forget the bigger picture. Just a few months ago, Salah was the Premier League Player of the Season and bagged 28 league goals as Liverpool stormed to the title. He finished 4th in the 2025 Ballon d’Or voting. Players in “decline” don’t usually do that.
What we’re probably watching is the natural transition of a 33-year-old forward. The searing pace might not be there every week. The all-action pressing might fade. But the movement, the intelligence, the knack of being in the right place? Those things don’t disappear overnight. If anything, they become sharper with experience.
So is Salah fading? Maybe a little. But fading isn’t the same as finished. He’s still Liverpool’s talisman, still feared across Europe, and still has the chance to shape another chapter. The king might be slowing down — but he’s not ready to step aside just yet.