Salah's exit felt inevitable and then inconceivable: Examining Liverpool's huge loss

All good things must come to an end. Even Mohamed Salah -- the epitome of a good thing for Liverpool over the past eight-and-a-half years -- cannot go on forever.

On Tuesday, the Egypt international shocked the football world by confirming he will depart Anfield at the end of the current season. But while the timing of Salah's announcement was unexpected, the past few months have increasingly appeared to be setting the stage for his Liverpool curtain call.

After all, it was less than four months ago that serious doubt was cast over the forward's immediate future. Following the Reds' 3-3 draw with Leeds United, he sounded off to reporters, claiming he had been "thrown under the bus" amid the team's poor run of form.

The situation initially seemed irretrievable -- and yet, after being omitted from Liverpool's travelling party for their subsequent trip to Inter Milan, Salah was later reintegrated into the squad.

It is a testament to his mental fortitude -- and to that of head coach Arne Slot -- that a civil resolution was able to be reached. Salah had once again become a nearly ever-present for Liverpool after returning from the Africa Cup of Nations in late January, before he was forced to miss the weekend's clash with Brighton & Hove Albion with a muscle problem.

Had the 33-year-old been ushered out of the back door in the January transfer window, it would have felt like an abrupt and unbecoming end to one of the all-time great Liverpool careers. Now, supporters have the opportunity to give Salah the farewell he deserves.

"I never imagined how deeply this club, this city, these people would become part of my life," Salah said in an emotional video posted to his social media accounts on Tuesday.

The feeling, it is safe to say, is mutual.

Since joining the club from AS Roma in 2017, the forward has emphatically carved his name into the annals of Anfield history. He is third on the club's all-time leading goalscorer list, having netted a staggering 255 times in 435 appearances.

Salah has won eight major trophies, including two Premier League titles and the UEFA Champions League in 2019. During his time on Merseyside, he has registered 189 goals and 92 assists in the Premier League -- the highest number of goal contributions managed by any player for one club in the competition's history.

His brilliance is so great that it now seems he cannot step onto the pitch without sending another record tumbling. And yet his impact is such that it cannot and should not simply be distilled into matches played and trophies won.

Over the past nine years, Salah has become a cultural phenomenon. To a generation, he is Liverpool Football Club, with his importance extending far beyond the realms of the sport itself. In 2019, the Egypt international was featured on the cover of TIME Magazine, having been named among the most 100 influential people in the world.

In 2020, he was honoured with a wax statue at London's Madame Tussauds. In 2021, a study in the American Political Science Review determined Salah's transfer to Liverpool had led to a 16% reduction in hate crimes in the city, as well as reducing Islamophobic online rhetoric.

There is barely a corner of Merseyside that is not in some way marked by the Liverpool forward, whether that be with an elaborate piece of street art or by the sight of a child with his name emblazoned on the back of their shirt. He has become woven into the tapestry of the region, and his legacy will endure long after he says his Anfield farewells.

From a football perspective, Salah's impending exit leaves Liverpool with a huge void to fill. The Egyptian has failed to live up to his own impossibly high standards this term -- his current tally of 10 goals in 34 games puts him on course for his least productive season in a red shirt -- and yet it is still almost impossible to imagine Liverpool without him.

From a financial perspective, the move has both positive and negative repercussions for the club.

Sources have told ESPN Salah will leave on a free transfer, despite him having only signed a new two-year deal last April. While the agreement reached with Liverpool means the club will not be able to recoup a significant transfer fee this summer, his early exit will unburden them from paying his astronomical weekly wages next season, freeing up vital capital to help continue the Reds' rebuild.

Most poignantly, though, Salah's departure is perhaps the biggest sign yet that the sun is setting on what was a golden era for the club under previous manager Jürgen Klopp. While he is not the first of Klopp's most favoured lieutenants to leave Anfield, he is irrefutably the most high-profile, and next season will provide the opportunity for a new face to take over the role of Liverpool's main man.

Salah, though, is not quite done yet. With Liverpool battling to secure European qualification and through to the quarterfinals of both the Champions League and FA Cup, the season is still very much alive and Reds supporters will hope their long-time talisman is poised to go out on a high.

Should Liverpool defy expectations to clinch a trophy or two in the coming months, it would certainly be an ending fit for an Egyptian King.