When Mohamed Salah announced he would be leaving Liverpool at the end of the season, Jürgen Klopp hailed him as "one of the all-time greats".
The report indicates that when Mohamed Salah announced he would be leaving Liverpool at the end of the season, Jürgen Klopp hailed him as “one of the all-time greats”.
It further notes that the ex-Reds boss managed him for his first five seasons at Anfield – in which Salah scored 156 goals, winning the Champions League, Premier League, three domestic cups, the Super Cup and the Club World Cup. He is indeed an exceptional footballer.
But that is only one of the many elements that have made him a global icon and role model to people way beyond the city of Liverpool, in the UK, Europe, throughout Africa, across the Arab world and to Muslims everywhere.
Salah’s journey reflects an exceptional level of commitment, persistence and passion.
Growing up in Nagrig, a remote village in Egypt, he kicked off his career at Al Mokawloon Al Arab, travelling nine hours a day by bus, from the age of 14, for training in Cairo.
His route to success has been a rocky one but Salah recalls a moment when everything changed.
“I was on the bench for two months,” he told Sports Illustrated. “I told my father, ‘I can’t go… every day and be on the bench.’ I was crying. He said, ‘Listen, everyone who became a big name after a long time, he suffered a lot [first]. It’s not going to be easy. Just keep focused, train hard and I’m sure you will play again and be great.’ That’s a moment that I still remember… After a short period, I started playing again – and everything has worked out.”
But it was only after several years of Egyptian club football that Salah’s skills finally took him to Europe, where he signed for Basel, in the Swiss Super League.
“From the first day I left Egypt for Basel’s assessment, I told myself I had to become a different player,” Salah told Egyptian television’s Kol Youm programme. “I wanted to do a great achievement, to attract attention, and to become a player people love and follow.”
European acclaim did not come overnight, however. Salah struggled for game time at Chelsea and had to switch to Italy’s Serie A to rebuild his career with Fiorentina and, from 2015-17, Roma. On returning to England with Liverpool, he announced: “I like to play here in the Premier League. I’m happy to be back and I’m excited.
“I will give everything for the club. I am happy to be here – and I really want to win something for this club.”
“If you look at me now and five years ago, everything has changed both mentally and physically,” Salah told BBC Sport in his first season at Anfield.
“I’m trying to improve myself every day. I always like to put myself under pressure to improve more.
“I give all my life to football. I only think about football. This is what is on my mind all the time.”
