‘I quit Liverpool because of one reason – Mohamed Salah should not copy me’

There was a major motivating factor behind Ian Rush’s decision to leave Liverpool for the second time, which isn’t at play for current star man Mohamed Salah ahead of his contract expiry

Anfield legend Ian Rush insisted Mohamed Salah has no need to consider following in his footsteps by leaving Liverpool.

Rush knows all about departing the Reds having done so twice in his career. His first exit in 1987 was short and sweet, returning to Merseyside after a solitary season at Juventus having felt homesick.

By the time he left for Leeds in 1996, the now 63-year-old was firmly an icon as the club’s all-time top scorer. But while Salah has achieved the same sort of status in the last seven-and-a-half years, he doesn’t think there’s a need to do the same as him.

Rush made his thoughts clear in an interview with the Echo last year, saying: “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.

“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.”

However, he made it clear that Salah’s situation at Anfield is different, emphatically stating: “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 shows no signs of slowing down at 32, holding the third spot on Liverpool’s all-time top-scorer chart, though he’s still more than a century of goals shy of Rush. His contract situation is approaching a vital point, with clubs abroad able to negotiate with him from next month.

At The Northwest Football Awards last month, Rush reinforced his wishes to see Salah renew his deal, telling the 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.”

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