This was the week Liverpool fans had been waiting for: Mohamed Salah finally committed his future to the Reds by signing a long-awaited contract extension then signalled the beginning of this next -- final? -- chapter of his Anfield era with yet another record.
Salah's future had been the Premier League's primary subcutaneous talking point since the autumn, bubbling beneath every step Liverpool took towards their unexpected -- and then inevitable -- title challenge.
The legendary forward has been at the top of his game and then some, hitting a level of consistency and intensity reminiscent of his record-breaking maiden season at Anfield. There haven't been the truly breathtaking flourishes of late 2021, when wondergoals against Manchester City and Watford were truly the pinnacle of Salah's technical prowess and visionary gifts on a football field, but his relentlessness for Arne Slot's side ensured Liverpool enjoyed a lead in the table that they've never looked like losing.
But beneath it all, there's been the elephant in the room. It cast a long shadow.
With Salah fast approaching the end of his existing deal, due to conclude this summer, a mist of uncertainty had enveloped Merseyside: Were Reds fans witnessing the last dance of one of their all-time greats; was this the final lap as Salah prepared to depart for more lucrative surroundings; was this campaign a final fond farewell?
With Salah, as well as Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk -- veterans of Jurgen Klopp's 2020 title success -- all flirting with the exit door, the season had begun to feel like one long last love letter before a parting of the ways. Certainly, Salah would be going out on a high; think that exultant triumph of the Abbey Road medley before the Beatles closed the studio doors for good.
There was also a second malignant consequence of Salah's impasse with Liverpool over these past months; the concern that his hitherto unswerving affection for the Anfield faithful would be tainted by the delay in contract signing.
At the very least, it's been messy.
The contractual impasse, due to negotiations over terms, and Salah's salary demands, which Reds directors didn't feel were -- until last week -- a worthwhile outlay, had threatened to undermine the mutual love-in.
He was criticised by club legend Jaime Carragher in November for overshadowing Liverpool's build-up to crucial matches against Real Madrid and Manchester City by giving a rare audience to reporters and offering thinly veiled jibes at the club's hierarchy.
"I'm probably more out than in," Salah said at the time, surely intending to pressure Liverpool's decision-makers by revealing that he was still waiting for an offer to remain with the club.
Supporters may be willing to forget it all now, but there was a sense - -at least among some portions of the fanbase -- that Salah went into business for himself, and opted to exploit the media with his choice comments, airing Liverpool's dirty laundry in public.
This behaviour, coupled with his agent's cryptic tweets, threatened a changing of mood towards Salah that was reminiscent -- to an extent -- of some supporters' emotional shift on Jordan Henderson when his prompt exit to Saudi Arabia was confirmed.
Perhaps it won't matter in the future, although for some, surely, the sharp, stark and unfavourable contrast between Salah's attempted media manipulation and Steven Gerrard emotionally rejecting Chelsea on the Istanbul turf, or Kenny Dalglish, dutifully attending the funerals of Hillsborough, will endure.
Anyway, Salah now has time to ensure people forget about any machinations or hesitations of this season, with another chapter to begin at Anfield after Salah and the club finally aligned on terms.
Last week, he put pen to paper on a two-year extension, committing himself to the club until 2027, by which point he will be 35.
"I signed because I think we have a chance to win other trophies and enjoy my football," Salah said upon his signing. "I had my best years here. I played eight years, hopefully it's going to be 10. Enjoying my life here, enjoying my football. I had the best years in my career.
"I would like to say to [the fans], I am very, very happy to be here. I signed here because I believe we can win a lot of big trophies together. Keep supporting us and we'll give it our best, and hopefully in the future we're going to win more trophies."
Despite his exploits this season, Salah hadn't been in top form in the weeks preceding his contract signing. He'd been without a goal or an assist in four matches for the Reds, including anonymous displays in the Carabao Cup final defeat by Newcastle United and in the UEFA Champions League elimination at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain. Only Southampton, one of the most hapless sides in Premier League history, have been breached by Salah since he netted in the 2-0 victory at Manchester City on Feb. 23.
Against West Ham United, however, Salah claimed another record as he registered an 18th-minute assist to set up Luis Díaz to open the scoring and put the Reds on their way to a 2-1 victory.
Salah could have opened the scoring during the early exchanges, when he brought down a long ball forward from Ibrahima Konaté, cut inside Oliver Scarles, and sent a curling finish wide of Alphonse Areola's goal.
Moments later, he did forge the breakthrough, again benefiting from Konate's ambitious passing, troubling the inexperienced Scarles with a majestic spin, and prodded a first-time trivela cross into the West Ham box. Diaz made no mistake from close range, and, reading the mood of an Anfield in the spirit to celebrate Salah's new contract, promptly paid homage to his teammate by mimicking the Egyptian's trademark celebration alongside the man of the moment.
This was Salah's 23rd assist of the season in all competitions; it was also his 45th goal involvement of the Premier League campaign (27 goals, 18 assists), eclipsing the record of 44 set by Thierry Henry and Erling Haaland, and Salah should have left that record far in the distance by the time the season finishes.
Mohamed Salah speaks about his two-year contract extension at Liverpool.
Ignoring his goals, his 18 assists puts him in rarefied company; only three players in the Premier League era -- Henry (2002-03), Mesut Ozil (2015-16), and Kevin De Bruyne (2019-20) -- have set up more goals in a single season. Salah just needs one more assist to equal Ozil, and three more to break Henry and De Bruyne's 20-assist record.
It's an astonishing feat, for which Salah doesn't get anything like the credit he deserves. In this season of ruthless goal-scoring, it might actually be Salah's creativity and capacity to provide for his teammates which ensures this is his most fruitful season.
Salah's body may not permit him to score quite as unswervingly over the next 24 months, despite his immaculate conditioning, but this less-heralded side of his game -- his ability to create for teammates -- may prove more valuable as the Reds rebuild gathers steam under Slot.
"He's just like a fine wine," Henry said on Sky Sports on Monday, reacting to the footage of Salah chipping away at another of his records. "He's looking for it. If you look to do it you'll eventually do it, the way he's been playing recently and the way Slot has been putting this team [together]. "What he's doing right now is legendary; that's exactly what it is."