"If I speak today, there will be fire." So said Mohamed Salah as he poured petrol on a blaze that he himself had ignited at the London Stadium on Saturday. It was a staggering act of sabotage towards the tail end of a demoralising 2-2 draw with West Ham, albeit entirely in keeping with the calamitous conclusion of Liverpool's campaign, which has been a traumatising tale of self-inflicted damage.

Indeed, Salah's unseemly sideline spat with Jurgen Klopp came just seconds after the almost inevitable concession of yet another goal that had its origins in an unforced error (this time from Alisson Becker) - which had been preceded by the now customary squandering of a succession of chances to kill the game at the other end of the field.

Consequently, Liverpool's frustrated fans were left dealing with not only with the devastation of seeing their team's Premier League title hopes extinguished in fittingly farcical fashion, but also the sad sight of two of their most beloved figures involved in a surprisingly heated and depressingly public argument.

It was all so desperately undignified and only reinforced the belief that Liverpool should cash in on Salah this summer.

True Liverpool legend

The Egyptian has long been Klopp's talisman, and his Liverpool legacy is already secure. As their all-time leading scorer in Premier League history, his greatness cannot be questioned. He is up there with Thierry Henry on the list of the finest forwards ever to play in England.

Even in a season affected by the Africa Cup of Nations and the injury he sustained in Ivory Coast, Salah has still managed to score 24 times and rack up 12 assists - only six players have been involved in more goals across Europe's 'Big Five' leagues.

Numbers-wise, a substandard season for Salah represents an incredible campaign for the likes of Cole Palmer and Ollie Watkins. In that sense, the winger is a victim of his own sustained excellence over the past seven years.

Not finished yet

There is also every reason to believe that a summer's worth of proper rest and recuperation will allow Salah to get back to his best next season, after being quite clearly hindered by the hamstring problem he suffered in January - even after his spring return to action.

After all, Salah has been borderline indestructible since arriving at Anfield from Roma. Obviously, there is always a bit of luck involved in avoiding serious injury, but Salah's renowned fitness regime has quite clearly played a pivotal role in his ability to play 50 games a season. It’s not difficult to foresee him performing at a high level well into his mid-30s.

However, the news that Liverpool are actually considering keeping Salah for another season makes little financial or sporting sense.

Another Saudi bid incoming?

Liverpool were right to turn down a £150 million ($190m) offer from Al-Ittihad for Salah's service's last September as he was still performing at the peak of his powers and there was always a chance that Klopp might mastermind a Premier League title challenge - even after a summer of great upheaval at Anfield.

So it proved, with Salah's sensational form during the first half of the season one of the main reasons why the resurgent Reds were able to put themselves in a position to challenge for the quadruple before he headed off to the AFCON.

But an awful lot has changed since then. There are now legitimate doubts over Salah's form and fitness, as well as the quality of Klopp's likely successor, Arne Slot. So, if Al-Ittihad were to put anything like the same kind of cash on the table at the end of the current campaign, it should be snapped up.

Sell Salah to strengthen squad

Salah turns 32 on June 15 and has just over one year left on his contract. It has been reported that a new deal will be discussed with the club in due course, but this is likely Liverpool's final opportunity to sell Salah for a hefty fee. It needs to be taken, given a worthy replacement will not come cheap.

It’s also worth reiterating that Liverpool remain a work in progress. As the final few weeks of the season have so painfully underlined, the squad still needs strengthening in several key areas. Ibrahima Konate cannot be counted on, Jarell Quansah is still too raw to be first-choice, the No.6 problem has yet to resolved, while the nagging doubts over Darwin Nunez's suitability to the role of spearheading the attack have resurfaced in recent weeks.

So, just like the mad money Liverpool managed to convince Barcelona to pay for Philippe Coutinho, the Salah funds could be put towards either a Salah successor - or transformational signings elsewhere.

Risk not worth taking

It has been claimed that incoming manager Arne Slot would like Salah to stay. Again, that’s understandable. The Egypt international remains Liverpool's most reliable source of goals.

Diogo Jota is the club's most lethal finisher, but can’t stay fit, Nunez remains hit and horrible miss, Cody Gakpo’s best position remains a mystery, while the exciting but erratic Luis Diaz looks like a man just waiting for Barcelona to come calling. One would still bet on Salah to score more goals than any of his fellow forwards next season, but it’s still a gamble that could backfire badly.

Presumably, there's no way Liverpool would allow the summer transfer market to close without Salah having signed a contract extension. The risk of talks breaking down and losing arguably their most valuable asset on a free transfer in 2025 would be just too great.

However, even if he does sign a new deal, one imagines he’d remain on a salary similar to the £350,000 ($440,000) a week he presently pockets - which would be an insane wage for a thirty-something who is both acting and performing poorly at a club that is not sponsored by a state or funded by individuals with more money than sense.

Apology in order

There's also the possibility that Salah could easily become a destabilising influence at Anfield. Judging by what we saw at the London Stadium on Saturday, he would not react well to being regularly rotated during the twilight years of his career.

Was his frustration understandable? Absolutely, no other player has done more for Liverpool during the Klopp years. He has come to the Reds' rescue time and time again. He is perfectly entitled to feel that Klopp should have kept faith with him, even during this unproductive period.

One can easily understand why he might have been miffed at being benched for a must-win game, particularly when the likes of Harvey Elliott and Gakpo started ahead of him. In that context, his show of insubordination on the touchline was somewhat understandable. But his post-match petulance was utterly unacceptable - and demands an apology.

Salah is no idiot. He knew full well that the mere mention of the word 'fire' would be incendiary. Instead of pouring cold water on the controversy, he deliberately fanned the flames - and now the onus is on him to put it out before the season's end, so that both he and and his fellow Anfield icon Klopp can enjoy a fond farewell rather than a bitter break-up.