Salah

Rooney’s former club are also enjoying a resurgence, with a 4-2 win over Brighton making it three on the trot and lifting them up to sixth place – level on points with Manchester City and one clear of Liverpool.

Part of that success has been down to the form of forward Bryan Mbeumo, who has scored three of his five goals in the last two games.

Rooney admitted he was not convinced when United brought him to the club in the summer for £65m from Brentford, but said the 26-year-old Cameroon international is now living up to expectations.

“His energy, his work-rate, his desire, is what you need to be a United player. I did say that I was a little bit unsure, but I think what he’s shown is he belongs there,” added Rooney.

“He’s been consistent with his performances, I think that’s the main thing. If you’re consistently getting into the right positions, and getting chances, you will score 20 goals a season.”

The Liverpool star is the first three-time winner of the annual award, given to the best player in English football, as adjudged by the Professional Footballers’ Association.

Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah was named the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) Player of the Year on Tuesday, with the Egyptian becoming the first player to win the award three times.

Salah, who joined Liverpool in 2017, was the Premier League’s top scorer last season, with his 29 goals, along with 18 assists, playing a key role in the club winning the league title, finishing 10 points ahead of runners-up Arsenal.

The 33-year-old had already clinched the Premier League Player of the Season award, the Golden Boot for most goals scored and the Playmaker award for most assists, making him the first player to win all three awards in the same season.

Salah first won the PFA award in 2018 after his first season at Liverpool, and again in 2022, and this year came out on top of a six-man shortlist, voted for by PFA members from the 92 Premier League and Football League teams.

That shortlist included his Liverpool teammate Alexis Mac Allister, along with Newcastle United’s Alexander Isak, Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes, Arsenal’s Declan Rice and Chelsea’s Cole Palmer.

Salah signed a two-year contract extension with Liverpool in April, ending months of speculation linking him with a move to the Saudi Pro League.

Aston Villa and England midfielder Morgan Rogers was voted Young Player of the Year, after the 23-year-old scored eight league goals in his 37 starts last season and netted four goals in the Champions League including a hat-trick against Celtic.

Arsenal midfielder Mariona Caldentey was named Women’s Player of the Year. The Spaniard scored nine league goals in her first season with the club, along with eight goals in the Champions League where Arsenal beat her former club Barcelona to win the trophy.

Canadian 21-year-old forward Olivia Smith, Liverpool’s leading scorer last season across all competitions with nine goals, picked up the Young Player of the Year award.

Smith has since joined Arsenal for a reported fee of one million pounds ($1.35m), making her the first female player to break the seven-figure barrier.

Liverpool had four players from last season, including Salah, named in the Premier League team of the year, along with new signing from Bournemouth, Milos Kerkez.

Premier League Team of the Year:

Matz Sels (Nottingham Forest); Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool), Milos Kerkez (Bournemouth), William Saliba (Arsenal), Gabriel Magalhaes (Arsenal); Declan Rice (Arsenal), Ryan Gravenberch (Liverpool), Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool); Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Alexander Isak (Newcastle United), Chris Wood (Nottingham Forest).

MO SALAH and Alessia Russo shared a hug on the red carpet at the PFA Awards.

The Liverpool star is set to be crowned the PFA Men’s Player of the Year.

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He is one of six players nominated for the award, along with Bruno Fernandes, Alexander Isak, Cole Palmer, Declan Rice and Alexis Mac Allister.

Salah looked stylish on the red carpet in a dark suit and he stopped for an embrace with Arsenal and England Women’s star Russo, who is up for the Women’s PFA Player of the Year.

Russo stunned in a low-cut, ankle-length green dress and had posed for photos before bumping into Salah.

The striker was crowned European champion and club and international level this year, and proved a popular figure on the red carpet.

She was joined on a star-studded carpet by the best players the Premier League and WSL has to offer.

Five other players were nominated for the Women’s PFA Player of the Year – Mariona Caldentey, Erin Cuthbert, Mary Fowler, Yui Hasegawa and Phallon Tullis-Joyce.

Rice posed on the red carpet alongside Arsenal team-mates William Saliba and Gabriel.

Another England star, Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers, was in attendance to pick up his PFA Young Player of the Year award.

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Former Palestinian international player Suleiman Al-Obeid was killed by an Israeli attack on aid seekers in Gaza on Wednesday.

Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah has criticised the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA)’s tribute to the late Suleiman Al-Obeid, known as the “Palestinian Pele,” after European football’s governing body failed to reference the circumstances surrounding his death this week.

The Palestine Football Association said that Al-Obeid, 41, was killed by an Israeli attack on civilians waiting for humanitarian aid in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday.

In a brief post on the social media platform X, UEFA called the former national team member “a talent who gave hope to countless children, even in the darkest of times”.

Salah responded: “Can you tell us how he died, where, and why?”

Can you tell us how he died, where, and why? https://t.co/W7HCyVVtBE

— Mohamed Salah (@MoSalah) August 9, 2025

UEFA was not immediately available to comment when contacted by the Reuters news agency.

One of the Premier League’s biggest stars, the 33-year-old Egyptian, Salah, has previously advocated for humanitarian aid to be allowed into Gaza during the nearly two-year-long war.

The United Nations says that more than 1,000 people have been killed near aid distribution sites and aid convoys in Gaza since the launch of the GHF, a United States- and Israel-backed aid distribution system, in late May.

FLORIAN WIRTZ will reportedly pocket a mammoth salary at Liverpool.

The Reds agreed a record Premier League fee for the Bayer Leverkusen and Germany midfielder earlier this week.

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The Merseysiders will pay the 2023/24 Bundesliga champions a whopping £116.5MILION for the 22-year-old.

Liverpool have fended off the likes of Bayern Munich, Manchester City and Real Madrid to land Wirtz, who has reportedly been handed a mammoth five-year contract.

And according to Sky Sports, the German will pocket a whopping £245,000 a week during his Anfield stay.

That works out to a whopping £12.7m a year, a fee which is nearly TWELVE TIMES what he currently earns at the BayArena.

A whooping £10.2m of that figure is guaranteed for the attacking midfielder, who will pocket the remaining £2.5m if individual and team performance targets are met.

Wirtz’s salary will make him the THIRD HIGHEST-PAID player at Anfield ahead of Andy Robertson, Alexis Mac-Allister, Allisson, Ryan Gravenberch, Federico Chiesa, Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez.

Only Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk, who both inked new one-year deals with the Prem champions last season, will earn more than him.

Egyptian Wizard Salah currently takes home a staggering £400,000 a week, which works out to be a jaw-dropping £20,800,000.

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Dutch defender Van Dijk, meanwhile, earns an annual salary of £18,200,000 thanks to his £350,000 weekly wages.

Wirtz will be joined at Anfield by his former Leverkusen team-mate Jeremie Frimpong.

The Dutch defender became the Reds’ first signing of the summer late last month.

After the completion of his £29.5m move, the 24-year-old said: “Liverpool fans, I’m going to give my all.

“My energy, my work-rate. And hopefully, we can win together, we celebrate together, get everything together.

“I’m just excited to be here. Thank you guys for accepting me.

“And I won’t let you guys down and I’ll give you the energy that you guys want.”

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A new-look FIFA Club World Cup, featuring 32 teams, kicks off in the United States on June 14 and runs through to the final on July 13.

In advance of the tournament, Al Jazeera takes a look at the top five talking points:

1. Cramped schedule raises concerns over player welfare

FIFA’s decision to expand the Club World Cup from a six- or eight-team tournament to a supersized 32-team edition has been criticised by FIFPRO, the global football players’ union, and the World Leagues Forum (WLF).

Legitimate questions have been raised about the extra workload on players due to the increased number of matches, and the corresponding reduction in rest and recovery time for players in a shortened off season.

“The FIFA Council’s decision to schedule the first edition of the 32-team FIFA Club World Cup between 15 June and 13 July 2025 without implementing further player workload safeguards demonstrates a lack of consideration for the mental and physical health of participating players, as well as a disregard for their personal and family lives,” FIFPRO said in a statement in December.

A report released by FIFPRO and Football Benchmark in April found that several Club World Cup-bound players are among the most overworked for the 2024-25 season.

The report’s findings estimated that Real Madrid’s Federico Valverde, who made 43 back-to-back appearances up until April 1 with fewer than five days of recovery time before these matches, could potentially reach 65 back-to-back appearances for club and country by the end of the season, racking up close to 7,000 minutes and 78 games.

The WLF, an organisation representing 44 major professional leagues that is chaired by Premier League chief Richard Masters, said the organisation was unhappy that it had been overlooked in FIFA’s decision-making process.

According to the Reuters news agency, Masters accused FIFA of prioritising its own commercial interests, adding that the June-July schedule would affect player availability for national leagues at the start of the season in August.

2. Will the matches be competitive?

While the expansion of the Club World Cup to 32 sides allows more teams a chance at testing themselves against some of the biggest names in global club football, it also raises questions about the competitiveness of the tournament.

With every group having at least two clubs from Europe or South America, teams from the other continental confederations, such as Asia or Africa, could find themselves having very little chance of glory against the heavyweights of the game.

For example, in Group G, Moroccan side Wydad AC and UAE Pro League Al Ain are pitted against Manchester City and Juventus, who have been supremely successful on the domestic and continental stage.

Teams from the European confederation (UEFA) have historically dominated the Club World Cup, winning 16 of the 20 editions played to date. The remaining four have all been won by clubs from the South American confederation (CONMEBOL).

So, history suggests that the presence of European or South American sides could lead to lopsided matchups in this year’s edition.

3. Where are the superstars and superteams?

While Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe will play at the tournament, fans will be denied an opportunity to watch many of the elite performers from the 2024-25 season, such as Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, the Premier League’s Golden Boot winner, or teenage prodigy Lamine Yamal, who won three trophies this year with Barcelona.

Salah created history as the first player in Premier League history to finish a season with the most goals and assists as well as win the Player of the Season award. But one of the most in-form forwards in the world will not be among the players in the US as Liverpool could not qualify for the tournament, with Manchester City and Chelsea earning spots from the English quota.

Further confusing the selection of teams was FIFA’s abrupt decision to give the host nation a spot and award it to Inter Miami, underlining the opaque nature of the qualifying criteria for the tournament which won’t feature Liverpool, Barcelona or Napoli, who have all just been crowned champions in three of the most prestigious leagues in Europe.

Inter Miami gained entry by topping Major League Soccer’s regular season standings, despite losing in the first round of the playoffs – a decision critics say shows FIFA’s desperation to have Inter’s Argentina great Messi at their inaugural showpiece.

Apart from the winners of each confederation’s premier club competitions, teams qualified according to a ranking based on their performances over a four-year period. Barcelona, the current La Liga champions, missed out on a spot due to the four-year club coefficient rankings and two-team restrictions, as their archrivals Real Madrid qualified for the Club World Cup alongside Atletico Madrid.

The Catalan giants, fielding some of the most exhilarating footballers on the planet, such as 17-year-old wonderkid Yamal or the goal-scoring genius of Raphinha, are a huge omission from the club-based tournament.

Prodigious talents like Romelu Lukaku and Scott McTominay, who ushered Napoli’s stunning 2024-25 Serie A title charge in Italy, will also not play.

4. Introduction of a special transfer window

In the build-up to the tournament, FIFA announced the creation of a special transfer window, allowing participating clubs to make last-minute transfers before their teams board the flight to the US.

FIFA has said signings can be made from June 1 to June 10 as well as June 27 to July 3, explaining that the objective of the latter window is to encourage clubs and players whose contracts are expiring “to find an appropriate solution to facilitate the players’ participation”.

The introduction of this transfer window is unique as signings usually either take place in the close season or the middle of the season, known as the summer and winter windows for European clubs.

FIFA’s move has led to speculation that Cristiano Ronaldo could be one of those players to put pen to paper during the window on a short-term deal for one of the participating clubs. Spanish newspaper Marca reported in late May that a club in Brazil had submitted an offer to sign Ronaldo. Botafogo – one of four Brazilian clubs competing at the tournament – have been linked with the veteran forward.

Ronaldo, 40, has hinted he could leave Al Nassr after declaring that a “chapter is over” hours after the Saudi Pro League finished. Al Nassr have not qualified for the Club World Cup, unlike fellow Saudi side Al Hilal, and FIFA President Gianni Infantino recently said “there are discussions” over Ronaldo playing at the Club World Cup.

The Portugal star confirmed on Saturday that he had received “quite a few” offers from participating clubs to play for them at the tournament, but had decided against accepting any.

Should a Ronaldo transfer ultimately occur, the Club World Cup could see Messi and Ronaldo face-off in the US market, greatly boosting media interest, ticket sales, TV viewership figures, and enhancing the overall appeal of the tournament. The duo, who are arguably the greatest players of their generation, last played in the same competition at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

A club which has already benefitted from this special transfer window is Real Madrid, which was able to reach an agreement with Liverpool to sign defender Trent Alexander-Arnold early and make him available for the tournament.

The right back was scheduled to join the Spanish giants on a six-year deal as a free agent after his Liverpool contract expired on June 30, but according to The Athletic, Real paid Liverpool 10 million euros ($11.4m) to fast-track the process and get him on board for the Club World Cup.

5. Dress rehearsal for next year’s FIFA World Cup

Fans in the US will get a glimpse of what the 2026 FIFA World Cup on home soil will look like when they attend the Club World Cup matches this year.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be co-hosted by the US alongside Canada and Mexico, running for more than a month with 100+ matches.

Among the 12 stadiums that will host the new-look Club World Cup, some have also been chosen as venues for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will have 48 participants for the first time.

MetLife Stadium, an 82,500-seater in New Jersey, will host the semifinals and the final of the Club World Cup as well as the final of next year’s prestigious World Cup.

Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field, Seattle’s Lumen Field and Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium are the other venues which will be involved in both tournaments.

The venues, though, might not be filled to their full capacity as organisers have struggled to sell tickets, with club fan tickets, general public tickets, and hospitality sections all still up for sale on the official FIFA site, nearly two weeks out from the start of the event.

Match of the Day’s Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer and Micah Richards discuss Mohamed Salah’s “ridiculous consistency” for Liverpool and how his “deadly” style of play is so difficult to stop.

MATCH REPORT: Salah clinches equaliser against Palace before Liverpool lift second PL title

MO SALAH and Arne Slot made the secret pact that took Liverpool to the title and made him Player of the Year.

The campaign began with Anfield shrouded in doubts – especially over whether Salah would sign a new deal and how Slot might handle the strain of being Jurgen Klopp’s successor.

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But Salah revealed how he was certain he could make the Dutchman a Prem champ in exchange for a pledge from the new manager.

Slot kept his word and so did the Kop’s Egyptian king as he reveals how over a series of discussions between the pair he declared: “I was very honest.

“I told him: ‘with me, you are going to win the Premier League but I have to feel really comfortable with the way we play.’

“He was very honest with me, we had a few honest conversations and he said to me: ‘OK, I will get the best out of you. I will put you in a situation where you feel comfortable but I need you to provide the numbers’.”

Provide those numbers Salah, just crowned the Football Writers Association’s player of the year for a third time, certainly did.

In what became a cruise to the crown he has set a new Prem high for a 38 – game season of 28 goals and 18 assists.

He needs two more goal involvements in tomorrow’s last game of the season against Crystal Palace to claim history by overtaking the joint record of 47 held by Alan Shearer and Andy Cole set over 42 matches.

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What’s more Salah will spend at least two more seasons with Liverpool having agreed a near – £400,000 a week new deal when he admits that the one pre – season doubt he did have was whether the club would come up with the numbers to make him stay.

Part of his concern was over the fact that owners Fenway Sports Group had always made age a number for older players.

He explained: “There is always a time either now or later when it is going to happen (Salah leaving) but I love this club.

“I always wanted to stay but I know my value and I was waiting for the club to arrive to the right point where me and the club are both going to be happy so that’s why the contracts took so long.

“Based on the club history, because the club treated players of 30 or 31 in different ways I wasn’t clear in my head that I was going to stay 100 percent.”

Salah, who has equalled Thierry Henry’s record of three FWA awards, couldn’t be happier with the way it has all worked out for him – and for the former Feyenoord manager.

His content is based not only on his own personal pride over what he says was a “crazy season, a crazy year” but also on the warm respect he has developed for Slot.

The 32-year-old stresses: “It’s so special, I have a good relationship with him and I am very respectful towards him and his staff because we all work really hard.

“At the beginning, we had that conversation, he asked me for stuff he wanted me to do.

“I asked him and put me in the positions and situations where I can really provide numbers and our relationship is very good and it’s working well.

“And he has improved me, absolutely. Now he will have to deal with me a bit longer!

“I’ve always believed there’s always room to improve and I think he did it very well and you see the numbers this year and I feel very happy about it.

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“I would give him half the credit and the other half to my teammates because they always help me in the situations to give me the ball or be at the right spot so they can pass the ball and I score.”

Salah also speaks warmly of the bond he has always had with the fans, even throughout a campaign of questions over whether he would go, or like skipper Virgil van Dijk, also sign on for another two years.

He says: “My relationship with the fans, I see it as very special.

“They see me as an honest guy and they could see that straight away.

“I think that’s why our relationship is special and that’s why they love me. I don’t hide the stuff, I always share.”

He has improved me, absolutely. Now he will have to deal with me a bit longer!

Mo Salah on Arne Slot

Having picked up the FWA prize at an awards dinner on Thursday night he can now look forward to an even brighter future with Slot – and makes another vow.

He says: “One game to go, I broke the record for 38 games so I am going to go fully focused for the last game and hopefully I can get two goals or assists.

“So I go again next year to break records again!”

There are no doubts for him that he can keep doing so either, even if he turns 33 next month.

The daddy of them all throughout Liverpool’s Prem history insists: “People need to realise that in the last five or ten years players start hitting their peak when they are 30 and upwards.

“When they have more experience and can manage their emotions and can provide big numbers.

“Football has changed now, people take care of themselves, if you try to do everything right you are going to play until you decide it’s time to retire.

“I said the other day I will probably play until I’m 39, 40 … until the kids tell you: ‘It’s OK, you leave football now and you stay with us!”

The wait to break the Premier League’s goal involvement record goes on for Mohamed Salah.

But on his 400th Liverpool appearance, he really should have been celebrating equalling the tally.

Quite how the Egyptian side-footed Cody Gakpo’s low cross wide of an empty net from just yards out in Monday’s defeat at Brighton, no-one really knows. His own wry smile suggested his own disbelief.

Two months ago, he looked set to destroy Premier League records and produce the greatest attacking individual season in the competition’s history.

Salah’s double against Southampton on 8 March took him to 27 goals and 17 assists in 29 matches, just three goal involvements short of the Premier League record of 47, held jointly by Alan Shearer and Andrew Cole.

He also looked certain to beat the record of 20 Premier League assists in a season, jointly held by Arsenal’s Thierry Henry and Manchester City’s Kevin de Bruyne.

Since then, has recorded just one goal and one assist in eight matches, leaving him still one short of the goal involvement record and two short of the assist record.

After Monday’s missed sitter, Liverpool boss Arne Slot said: “The first thought that goes through my head when I see the ball moving towards Mo, I’m like, ‘It’s quite a big chance, this could lead to a goal,’ because that’s what Mo normally does.

“He’s been throughout this season almost inhuman. But there were moments in the season where he was human, so it’s not the first time that he’s not scoring for one or two games in a row.

“But the good thing for us is this hardly ever happens and, if it happens, you can be sure that he will score in the third game of the fourth game.”

After helping Liverpool secure the Premier League title on 27 April, Salah said: “Hopefully I’m going to break [the goal involvements record] soon. It’s something pushing me forward to just keep going and keep working hard.”

With one game to go – the visit of Crystal Palace to Anfield – you still would not bet against him.