“Toxic combination” – Shock as Saudi chief plays down Salah transfer as he’s too old & not a team player

An owner of a Saudi club has spoken out on the Mohamed Salah transfer rumours and has majorly played down talk of signing the Liverpool star.

Ben Harburg, an American sports investor who runs Al Kholood, has addressed the ongoing Salah stories amid the Egypt international’s falling out with Reds manager Arne Slot.

Needless to say, as you can see in the video clip below, Harburg has clearly been left unimpressed by Salah’s behaviour after his criticism of Slot for leaving him on the bench in recent matches…

?? “He’s NOT a team player!” – Could Mohamed Salah to Saudi now be in serious doubt after his bust-up with Arne Slot? ? pic.twitter.com/olMkpFf6mt

— CaughtOffside (@caughtoffside) December 11, 2025

Even if Salah is a big name, Harburg feels that he is no longer likely to be a top target for Saudi clubs after turning them down in the past and now publicly criticising his current employers.

When asked about a move for Salah, Harburg said: “I do think there’s already, even amongst the public, much more apprehension around his coming into the league.

“He’s 33 years old, he got paid a boatload a year or so ago, whatever it was, and has underperformed massively since then.

“He doesn’t strike me as a great team player. As an owner, when I look at the way he behaved there … if a player isn’t performing, they’re not going to be in the starting line up. We don’t put people in the starting line up based on what they did three seasons ago or even last season.

“All that, to me, combines for a fairly toxic combination of factors. So I would rather he not come here. I’m sure some people like his star power, he’s from the region, but my sentiment is that he is not a fit for our league.

“I would rather, if it were between him and Vinicius, I’d take Vinicius.

“I’m hoping we go after those 25-year-old next wave players rather than guys like Salah who definitely this would be the last stop on his career.”

This might not necessarily be representative of how others in Saudi feel, but it’s a bit of a warning sign for Salah if he does end up leaving Liverpool.

The 33-year-old might well have put suitors off with his recent antics, while it also saw him dropped entirely from Slot’s matchday squad for the Inter Milan game this week.

Salah surely would have suitors somewhere after such a great career with LFC, but this is a reminder that he can’t necessarily expect to throw a tantrum like this and just walk into another team.

Having said that, this also seems harsh on Salah considering that Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to Al Nassr came about in much the same way, while it’s also not like Vinicius hasn’t had his issues with Real Madrid’s management this season.

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