Chelsea spell was most important period in my life: Liverpool's Salah

Ahmed Abd El Rasoul , Wednesday 14 May 2025

Liverpool star winger Mohamed Salah has described his previous spell with Chelsea as the most important in his life and a turning point in his successful English Premier League career.

Liverpool's Egyptian striker #11 Mohamed Salah (R) crosses the ball during the English Premier League football match between Chelsea and Liverpool at Stamford Bridge.a AFP

Salah, 32, began his English Premier League journey in 2014 after joining Chelsea from Swiss side Basel FC.

Despite his unsuccessful spell there, he eventually became an icon of Liverpool and the prestigious competition.

“I remember the first game I played, I think it was Newcastle, and I was attacking the [flank] and felt, boom [a strong tackle], I felt like, ‘Oh, how am I going to survive here?” Salah said in a short film about his football career that was posted on Liverpool’s official website on Wednesday.

“So the first thing I learned was, OK, now I need to be physically strong, I need to go to the gym more, I need to do recovery more and adapt to the game,” he added.

Salah’s journey with Chelsea was not so successful, as he struggled to book a regular place there.

This pushed him out to play in Italy at Fiorentina and AS Roma, where he gained more experience and confidence.

In 2017, he returned to English football to write a glorious history with Liverpool.

Salah won the Premier League’s Golden Boot Award three times. He also led Liverpool to win many titles, including the Premier League title twice (2019/2020, 2024/2025), UEFA Champions League once (2018/ 2019), UEFA Super Cup 2019, and FIFA Club World Cup 2019.

Despite his various achievements at Liverpool, Salah still considers his Chelsea spell the most important period in his glorious football career.

“I still also say this was the most important period of my life when I went to Chelsea,” he stated.

“Because when I started to struggle there, I was like, OK, so now what? Are you going to be an average player, or do you want to be an outstanding player?" He expressed.

“It was a key point for me, I started to read a lot and watch a lot of videos on YouTube to help me change how I behave, how my mentality [is], and everything.”

Salah, who has scored 244 goals in 398 appearances for Liverpool so far and is third on the club’s all-time scoring list, signed a new contract on 11 April, extending his stay beyond the 2024/2025 season.

The Pharaohs skipper was instrumental in Liverpool’s title-winning campaign this season, topping the league charts with 28 goals and 18 assists in 35 appearances.

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