There are a lot of “bests” to say about Mohamed Salah who announced he would be leaving Liverpool at season’s end: one of the best to have ever played for Liverpool, one of the best in the history of the Premier League, and simply put, one of the best players in the world.
Salah’s achievements could fill up a wall. As of Tuesday 24 March, when Salah made his announcement, he had 189 Premier League goals for Liverpool in over 300 appearances. Only Ian Rush and Roger Hunt scored more times for the club in its illustrious history.
His 191 Premier League goals (two with Chelsea) currently sees him sit fourth in the all-time goalscoring charts, behind only Wayne Rooney, Harry Kane and Alan Shearer.
His total of 281 goal contributions (goals and assists) is the biggest for one club in Premier League history, five more than Rooney for Manchester United.
One statistic jumps out of the page: since Salah signed for Liverpool nine years ago, no-one has more Premier League goals (189) or assists (92).
At the club level, he helped guide Liverpool to the 2019 Champions League, two Premier League titles, the FA Cup, two EFL Cups, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.
Individually, he is the co-record holder of four Premier League Golden Boots, plus winning the PFA Players’ Player of the Year on three occasions.
“I never imagined how deeply this club, this city, these people, would become part of my life,” Salah said in his farewell announcement on social media, sitting in front of a gleaming trophy cabinet.
“Liverpool is not just a football club. It’s a passion. It’s a history. It’s a spirit. I can’t explain it in words.”
But the dazzling Egyptian right winger with a devastating left foot could very well explain it on the field.
Sometimes when assessing the long career of a player, especially one as glittering as Salah’s, your eyes tend to glaze over all the accumulated facts and figures.
Sheer numbers, like those of war casualties, tend to numb the mind. One death is a tragedy, while hundreds or thousands of deaths become a statistic.
Same in sports. Any one of the stats produced by Salah as mentioned would be a highlight moment standing on its own. But too many successes strung together stand the risk of becoming the norm.
It’s easy to take Salah’s accomplishments for granted because he makes what look like insane plays routine.
But Salah is anything but normal. He is not just a generational player; he is a once in a lifetime player. And we should consider ourselves lucky that we were around to see this great at his prime.
“Did you see that goal?” was asked by amazed fans dozens of times when Salah netted for Liverpool. Of all the things that stood out in Salah’s career were the kinds of goals he scored -- with an eye for goal that was unrivaled -- whether their sheer brilliance or their importance to the team.
There is his left-footed beauty against Everton in 2017 in the sleet and snow, an effort that won Salah the FIFA Puskás Award for the best goal of the season.
Or his goal against Chelsea in 2019, when he picked the ball up on the right before firing a shot into the far corner from distance – a move that became a trademark goal during his time at Liverpool.
Or how about his solo effort against Manchester City in 2021 when he sensationally waltzed past one of the best defences in the world before slotting in.
The context around the goals is also important. Time after time, Salah shined brightest in the biggest moments, winning for his team countless games.
Salah’s journey from the Nile delta village of Nagrig to Merseyside is well documented. Those commutes of five hours to get to training in Cairo, often transferring four to five buses both ways, at still only 14, was grueling but instilled in him a resilience that obviously paid off in the end.
After becoming a starter in the 2010-2011 season for his club in Egypt, the Arab Contractors, Salah’s international flight was launched. Picked up by Swiss side FC Basel, he scored decisive goals in the Champions League and helped Basel secure their fifth league title in a row.
In January 2014, Salah was signed by Chelsea for 11 million euros, which would now be considered daylight robbery.
Under José Mourinho it was a squad filled with veteran stars in their twilight like Ivorian striker Didier Drogba, so Salah was sidelined, making only a handful of appearances.
The following February, Chelsea agreed on an 18-month loan for Salah to Italian side Fiorentina and after one positive season he chose to join AS Roma on loan.
With his speed and nose for goals, Salah proved a handful for many defences in Italy and he started turning heads among Europe’s elite clubs.
In the summer of 2017, Salah was sold to Liverpool, chosen by manager Jurgen Klopp, for a club-record fee at the time of 34.3 million euros, becoming the first Egyptian in the club’s history.
There were cautious expectations of him at first, but he quickly personified Klopp’s high-intensity tactic focused on immediately winning the ball back after losing possession.
His first season with Liverpool was absolutely stunning. Forming one part of an attacking trident that was as potent as anything in world football at the time, alongside Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino, Salah broke the all-time Premier League scoring record for a 38-game season, netting 32 times.
That’s when Mohamed Salah became Mohamed Salah.
When he became known as the “Egyptian king”, for prostrating on the pitch in reverence after every goal, his yoga pose celebration, and the songs the Anfield faithful made up just for him.
In parallel, in Egypt, despite being a national hero, he is not always looked on with the same reverence as abroad.
He has his local detractors, possibly because Egyptians are known to be an ornery bunch who are never satisfied, and also because he has yet to steer the national team to an Africa Cup of Nations title. He played in five editions without winning one.
He got Egypt into the 2018 World Cup for the first time in 28 years after scoring a dramatic 95th-minute penalty against Congo.
But in the World Cup in Russia he played injured thanks to the infamous Sergio Ramos wrestling move and Egypt consequently left after the group stage.
Despite Salah scoring 67 international goals for Egypt, just two less than the record held by current coach Hossam Hassan, the constant complaint often aired in Egypt is why Salah doesn’t play for the national team the way he plays for Liverpool.
Easy answer: because Egypt do not possess the same high-calibre players or a tactician like Klopp.
Salah had his fraught moments with Klopp, as he did with his successor Arne Slot, especially an angry touchline exchange when West Ham scored as he was waiting to go on as a substitute in a 2-2 draw at London Stadium in April 2024.
With Slot in his first year as Liverpool’s coach, Salah was an unstoppable force as Liverpool won the title with ease.
But in his second year, Slot and Liverpool slipped badly. The subsequent decline in Salah’s form resulted in him being dropped to the bench for three successive games in six days, leading to his incendiary comments that he had been “thrown under the bus” by the club after he sat and watched a 3-3 draw against Leeds United on 6 December.
Salah later returned to playing mostly full time but it felt like the damage had been done and Salah’s days with Liverpool were numbered. Last month, BBC Sport reported that a summer departure was increasingly likely.
And so it has happened. He is essentially cutting his contract short and leaving the club for free at the end of the season.
But before his departure comes an emotional farewell as the accolades and tributes will pour forth in the few games he has left with Liverpool.
Unfortunately, Salah does not leave on a high note. This season neither he nor Liverpool have met their usual lofty standards.
He also leaves having never won the Ballon d’Or as the world’s best player despite many magical seasons which warranted his selection.
But Salah exits Liverpool as a true ambassador of the sport. Not always mentioned is Salah lives as clean as a whistle. As opposed to many multi-millionaire athletes, Liverpool’s No 11 has never been involved in problems related to drugs, women or the police.
While this story sounds like Salah’s eulogy, the 33-year-old will still be playing, only not for Liverpool. His future is uncertain -- he has previously been linked with a switch to Saudi Arabia, while other options include Major League Soccer in the United States or a club in Europe. He will also captain his country in the World Cup in the summer.
You don’t appreciate what you have until you no longer have it. There is a human tendency to take blessings for granted, only recognising their true value after they are gone.
Sound familiar?
* A version of this article appears in print in the 2 April, 2026 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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