According to Salah's agent, Ramy Abbas, Salah himself does not yet know his next destination.
Yet we can confirm that Liverpool have already been planning for life without their talisman over recent months, internally assessing how to reshape their attack for next season.
The news of his planned exit brings a complicated chapter to a close.
Liverpool entered this season as reigning Premier League champions and rewarded Salah with a new mega-contract off the back of that success. Expectations were high, but the campaign has unravelled; they are out of the title race, and as performances dipped, Salah’s own form also declined sharply.
There has been tension with the manager, raising serious questions earlier in the season about whether a January exit was possible. Instead, Salah departed for AFCON, returned and reintegrated … but the sense of inevitability around a summer departure remained strong.
Now, with confirmation that this will be his final season, attention turns to what comes next.
Salah’s exit is significant from a financial perspective, as he is effectively walking away from a contract worth around £400,000 per week by agreeing a mutual departure.
That will not impact him long term, as future options are going to be lucrative. Yet this is still a huge moment for Liverpool’s all-time top scorer.
And how does this impact the Reds? Liverpool must decide whether - and how - they replace him.
The Reds already committed heavily last summer, bringing in Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak for significant fees, but early signals suggest they will still be ready to re-enter the market for a top, new wide player.
Among the names understood to be very much under consideration is RB Leipzig sensation Yan Diomande, who is valued at around €100m. Meanwhile, the likes of Desire Doue, Bradley Barcola and Nico Williams have all been monitored from across Europe. Liverpool are also admirers of Michael Olise at Bayern Munich - but that one is going to prove particularly difficult.
Closer to home, Newcastle United’s Anthony Gordon is highly-rated, while Antoine Semenyo was considered in the last window before he joined Manchester United. Jarrod Bowen is another admired option, and his side West Ham are currently locked in a relegation battle.
As for 33-year-old Salah, the most likely destination remains Saudi Arabia, where long-standing interest has only intensified.
Al Ittihad saw a previous bid rejected, while Al Hilal and Al Nassr have been mentioned as potential landing spots in recent times. Other Saudi sides, including Neom FC and Al Qadsiah, have also lodged interest.
Financially, the scale of any such transfer would be transformative. In Saudi Arabia, Salah would truly become one of the world’s highest-paid players, with the potential to earn around £175m per season.
It is worth nothing that a move to Major League Soccer has been mooted, with San Diego FC - owned by Mohamed Mansour - one club linked. That has not progressed and there are understood to be some reservations about the option of moving to the United States.
There have also been potential opportunities within Europe, with Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona mentioned.
The future will become more clear over the coming days and months, but what is clear right now is that one of the Premier League era’s defining players is making a decision that will shape the final stages of his career.