The future starts slow. From a mixed zone in Beeston on a wintry afternoon to a sweltering summer by the Black Sea.Everyone knew Mohamed Salah’s time at Liverpool was up eight months ago. After all, he spoke from under a bus at Elland Road. Salah had been thrown there by the club. He claimed “someone doesn’t want me” at Liverpool — incendiary words discordant with his smiling and adorable Kermit-style syntax. They betrayed an ego that, as with Lionel Messi, is much less obvious than other players of similar generation-defining profile, such as Cristiano Ronaldo.The expectation was Salah would leave in far from ideal circumstances once the January transfer window opened and Egypt’s Africa Cup of Nations campaign had concluded. Liverpool could at least then command a fee and recoup more of what they spent in a record and profligate summer transfer spree. Salah’s time at the club was over — or so it seemed.No matter how bad the results, Liverpool backed Arne Slot. And so a 2-0 win against Brighton and Hove Albion on December 13 threatened to be Salah’s final game at Anfield. His return in mid-January came as a surprise, surpassed only by what has happened in the past week.Emotionally and practically, selling Salah seemed harder than expected. Ultimately, Liverpool made it easier on would-be suitors. In March, it was belatedly announced that, with a year to run on his contract, he would be leaving for nothing at the end of the campaign. It was a show of appreciation. Proof of no hard feelings toward an all-time great.If interested clubs weren’t already aware of Salah’s availability, they were officially put on message.Salah bids farewell to Anfield in May (Naomi Baker/Getty Images)It gave Salah and his representative plenty of time to line something up before the World Cup. They were at an advantage, knowing any club would only have to negotiate with them. By the time the tournament began, however, Salah’s next destination was still a mystery. The saga went on longer than you would expect for a player of his talent, even if, once it began, a six-week World Cup slowed the market.As the stars came out at the tournament, Salah scored just once. In fairness, he did not have the supporting cast Messi, Ronaldo and Erling Haaland could call upon. No one should forget his team also felt cheated in their 3-2 defeat against Argentina. But could more have been done against Iran and Belgium to top Group G, giving them a different path?In July, Salah’s agent Ramy Abbas Issa tweeted on X: “I personally do not know where Mohamed will play next season. What does that tell you?”Many things. Could an image have formed of Salah, in his last year at Liverpool, as more difficult and less decisive? Did the salary being demanded misjudge the market? Were they too picky?Only a year ago, Salah had, in fairness, put himself firmly back in the conversation for the Ballon d’Or. He looked as good as ever in Liverpool’s title-winning season, with 61 goal involvements. In the end, he didn’t even make the Ballon d’Or podium, paying, perhaps, for Liverpool’s round-of-16 exit from the Champions League. Still, his form had earned him a new two-year contract, making him the highest-paid player in the club’s history and one of the best paid in the world.Salah celebrates with the Premier League trophy last year (Michael Regan/Getty Images)The deal seemed simultaneously irrational and rational. After all, Salah was about to turn 33. Decline was around the corner. Or was it? Salah had avoided major injuries. He possesses abs Ronaldo probably sees as a threat. His peak, as has proven the case with other athletes of this generation, seemed longer than players of a bygone era.