Yes, 13 titles. But, Manchester City. Jurgen Klopp winning the Premier League without Mohamed Salah would at the very least negate a fundamental argument for those defending Sir Alex Ferguson’s dominance.

Reports of Saudi interest in Mohamed Salah aren’t going away. £150 million wasn’t enough in the summer, but it will be by the end of the season, when he will have only a year left on his current contract at the age of 32.

Liverpool would be insane to turn down such an offer, and by all accounts, the Egyptian is eager to join Al-Ittihad, or whichever moneybags Saudi club offers him riches beyond his wildest dreams.

The Big Question: How Do You Replace Mohamed Salah? The short answer is that you don’t. Unless Jurgen Klopp really hijacks Real Madrid’s move for Kylian Mbappe, seizing the private plane in transit and flying it to John Lennon Airport, any alternative will be inferior. Even Mbappe would have to work hard to be as effective.

Only Kevin De Bruyne (76) has more Premier League assists than Selfish Salah’s 63 in that period. They would not have won without him.

Even if Liverpool were ready to forego Salah’s hefty Saudi salary for an extra year, he will be outlived on Merseyside by Klopp, whose current deal expires in 2026. There will be at least one, possibly two years (three or four if he agrees to an extension) of Klopp in command of a Salah-less Liverpool team, during which time we can finally put to rest the age-old dispute about who is the superior manager, him or Sir Alex Ferguson.

As things stand, a little discussion is in order, and kudos to those arguing for Klopp, who have been able to triumph over opponents shouting ’13 TITLES’ in their faces. While the debate will undoubtedly stay one-sided as a result of those awards, a Premier League title for Liverpool post-Salah would at the very least negate one big reason for Fergie’s dominance, and could – for those not completely dazzled by silverware – swing the balance in Klopp’s favor.

Apart from the sheer number of trophies, the primary factor that now keeps Fergie on a pedestal is his ability to overhaul his team and go again. Klopp is now undergoing this process at Liverpool, having spent £160 million on a brand-new midfield in the summer and signing a forward in four of the previous six transfer windows. However, Salah’s departure will be the actual litmus test for Germany’s capacity to rebuild.

Mohamed Salah appears to be heading to Saudi Arabia this summer.

Liverpool are currently keeping pace with Manchester City in the Premier League, with Klopp proving to be a master at reducing the bedding-in period of his many new additions, but Salah continues to do the majority of the hard lifting.

The 13 titles to two will remain a difficult chasm for the brave Klopp-istas to overcome, but we’ll get Dave Tickner – who has successfully proven that Harry Kane, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Lionel Messi have all scored exactly zero international goals – on the case at some point to explain why most of those 13 don’t really count. They won it with 75 points in 1996/97, FFS. How fortunate was Ferguson’s Class of ’92? and so forth.

He also didn’t have to deal with a state-backed Pep Guardiola. Sure, there were the Arsenal Invincibles and the Russian oligarch at Chelsea, but no team has come close to Manchester City’s quality during the last six seasons. Liverpool’s points totals in losing Premier League bouts with City in 2018/19 (97) and 2021/22 (92) would have been enough to beat Manchester United in all 13 seasons they won the title under Sir Alex Ferguson.

As rival fans presumably demand asterisks for title wins for Liverpool or whomever else, while Manchester City climb the divisions back to the Premier League in the coming seasons, any title win with Guardiola’s City as contenders should count far more than any of United’s 13 walks in the park under Sir Alex.

Apart from that, Klopp’s standing as a Premier League great will skyrocket if he can beat Manchester City to the Premier League without Mohamed Salah. He will have developed his team in the same way as Sir Alex did before defeating a juggernaut the likes of which the GOAT title-winner never faced. At the very least, there should be a discussion.