Mohamed Mansour didn't deny it. He didn't confirm it either. But when the billionaire owner of San Diego FC says Mohamed Salah would be an "asset" to any team in any country — on the sidelines of a major soccer business summit — you read between the lines.
Salah confirmed this week he'll leave Liverpool at the end of the season after nine years, 255 goals, and a haul of silverware that includes a Champions League, two Premier League titles, and a record-equaling four Golden Boots. Saudi Arabia is widely considered the frontrunner. But MLS is in the conversation, and San Diego FC's name keeps coming up.
Mansour is talking — just not answering the real question
Asked directly whether he's trying to recruit Salah, Mansour sidestepped. "I let the people in charge" decide, he told AFP, describing his role as flagging opportunities and letting his sports director and coaching staff have the final word. It's a clean answer that tells you nothing and everything at once.
What he was willing to say: "He is somebody that reached the world stage as one of the great players. Wherever he will go, he will add a lot to that league and to that country and to that team for sure."
Mansour is Egyptian. Salah is Egyptian. The owner told a panel that Egypt essentially stops when Salah plays, and named him his favourite footballer of all time. The connection is real — the question is whether it translates into a transfer.
San Diego isn't exactly a long shot destination
The context matters here. This isn't some vanity project franchise dangling cash at an aging star. San Diego FC only joined MLS in 2025 as the league's 30th club — paying a $500 million expansion fee — and promptly broke the record for most points by a debut team, finishing with 60 and reaching the playoff semi-finals. They currently sit fourth in the Western Conference, unbeaten.
The squad is young, built through Mansour's Right to Dream academy network with branches in Ghana, Egypt, and Denmark. Mohammed Kudus is among its alumni. This is a club with infrastructure, identity, and serious money behind it.
If Salah is looking at MLS — and he's following a path worn by Messi, Son, and Griezmann — San Diego FC is a more credible landing spot than it might first appear. His availability on the transfer market, with no fee attached, only sharpens the interest from every direction.
Salah has scored just five league goals this season, a sharp dip from his usual output. Whether that's age, tactical fit under Arne Slot, or the lingering fallout from his public frustration with the club — "thrown under the bus" were his words in December — doesn't really change the calculus. He's still one of the most marketable players on the planet, and whoever signs him gets that instantly.
"He will definitely be an asset," Mansour said. That much is not in dispute.
