‘Mohamed Salah should not give up Liverpool like I did – there is not any purpose for him to go’
Liverpool legend Ian Rush opened up on his two departures from Anfield but insisted Mohamed Salah has no reason to follow in his footsteps by leaving the club
Liverpool legend Ian Rush urged Mohamed Salah to stay at the club while sharing insight into his own departures from Anfield during his career.
The Welsh goal machine twice left the Premier League giants. His first stint away in 1987 saw him last just a season at Juventus, before homesickness in Italy saw him return to Merseyside.
By the time he joined Leeds in 1996, Rush, now 63, was the club’s all-time leading scorer – with an astonishing 346 goals in 660 appearances – and an indisputable icon of British football.
Salah, who going into Liverpool‘s Boxing Day clash with Leicester City is fourth on the Reds’ all-time scoring chart with 229 strikes in 373 outings, but is out of contract next summer, was advised by Rush not to follow suit.
Rush said: “I’d love him to extend his contract. We don’t know what will happen but I’m sure every Liverpool supporter would love that as well.
“I left because I wasn’t playing regularly. I just wanted to play football. I didn’t want to sit on the bench and that’s what you’ve got to look at. I left here to go to Leeds United because I wanted to be playing week in, week out.”
Rush also recalled the excellence of team-mates Robbie Fowler and Stan Collymore, which influenced his decision. He said: “I looked at [Robbie] Fowler and [Stan] Collymore, they were doing really well together, and I didn’t want to be sitting on the bench. I was enjoying my football and that’s the reason why I went to Leeds.”, reports the Mirror.“But that was my situation, it depends if you are happy sitting on the bench or not. But Mo’s not even got to that stage yet so no, there’s not really any reason for him to go yet.”
Salah, 32, who could yet match Liverpool’s second and third highest scorers, Roger Hunt and Gordon Hodgson, is unlikely to catch Rush, given he is still more than a hundred goals behind his record.
And his future at Liverpool hangs in the balance as foreign clubs will be able to start contract talks with him soon, meaning the Egyptian King could leave on a free transfer come June.Rush previously told the Daily Mail: “Me and Mo speak quite a lot. People talk about whether he’s staying or going but I just enjoy watching him on the pitch.
“He’s a joy to watch. You think he hasn’t done anything for 20 then he pops up with a goal or two. You can’t buy that. That’s special and he’s a special player. Everyone wants him to stay.”
