Mohamed Salah takes his final Anfield bow on Sunday, departing as one of the Premier League‘s all-time greats.
It was a long and winding road to the top, with moments when the footballing immortality he departs with were by no means certain. Here, those who have been part of his journey talk about the man and the player they have known…
Salah scored 44 goals in his first season for Liverpool, only Ian Rush, with 47 in 1983-84, had ever been more prolific.
At Anfield, debate has raged about whether Salah’s goalscoring would ever surpass that of Rush, considered by many to be the club’s greatest striker. Few know that the two have become close friends….
IAN RUSH
Former Liverpool striker and club-record goalscorer
Mo and I have grown to be good friends over the years. We first met on a Liverpool pre-season tour and he’d ask questions about the club. I told him ‘this is no ordinary place’. He knew it was special and he’s gone on to have a fantastic nine years.
We often get together for dinner with his agent Ramy (Abass) in Dubai. We talk about everything: life, family, football. When I ended up in hospital with flu last year, he’d be on asking how I was and afterwards he’d check on me to see how I was doing. He genuinely cares.
Mo didn’t fail at Chelsea, it’s where he learnt his trade. It was a challenging time for him but it made him change his mentality; how he ate, how hard he trained.
When he got injured by Sergio Ramos in the Champions League final in Kyiv, he said to me ‘that’s not going to happen to me ever again’. He adapted his training to get stronger. More yoga and core work. Twelve months later, at the next final in Madrid, I’d barely taken my seat when Mo put us in front against Tottenham.
Mohamed Salah will wave goodbye to Liverpool today after 441 games, 257 goals and eight major trophies
Salah and Ian Rush have scored a combined 603 goals for Liverpool
The pair sit third and first in Liverpool’s all-time top scorers list
He loves playing chess and likes to envisage before games how he will score or get into positions.
He’s got a great football brain. I liken him to Kenny Dalglish in that respect. People go on about strikers in systems but when things don’t go to plan on a pitch, you have to work out yourself where that space will come. Kenny was excellent at that and Mo is similar.
| 1. Ian Rush (1980-87; 1988-96) | 346 in 660 games |
| 2. Roger Hunt (1958-69) | 285 in 492 |
| 3. MOHAMED SALAH (2017-26) | 257 in 441 |
| 4. Gordon Hodgson (1925-36) | 241 in 377 |
| 5. Billy Liddell (1938-61) | 228 in 534 |
| 6. Steven Gerrard (1998-2015) | 186 in 710 |
| 7. Robbie Fowler (1993-2001; 2006-07) | 183 in 369 |
| 8. Kenny Dalglish (1977-90) | 172 in 515 |
| 9. Michael Owen (1996-2004) | 158 in 297 |
| 10. Harry Chambers (1915-28) | 151 in 339 |
He’s even got a bit of the Liverpool sense of humour in him now. The other day he said to me ‘Your numbers. All those goals you scored… did you count the ones in training as well?’
When he said what he did about the club last week, that’s out of frustration. He’s a winner. But so is Arne Slot, they both want the same thing: for Liverpool to win trophies. As Kenny said all those years ago, no one is bigger than the club. I just hope it doesn’t tarnish Mo’s legacy.
When I was playing, Craig Johnstone came over from Australia and opened the door for more players to come to England from there. I think after Mo, we will see a lot more talented Egyptians in the Premier League. But I doubt there’ll be another Mo.
Fame was not always certainty for Salah and for his first agency, in Egypt, it took few months to see that he was no ordinary young footballer…
YAHIA ALY
Founder of Spocs agency in Cairo, who, with partner Ibrahim Azab, spotted Salah
Initially, Salah wasn’t the standout player in the national youth team but in 2011, there was a friendly between Egypt and Misr El-Maqassa, as part of preparation for the Under-20 World Cup. You could feel that he was different. It was his speed but, more than that, it was the way he moved. He didn’t look like the other players.
Later that year, after the Under-23 African Championship, his league performances were outstanding. He scored six goals in five consecutive matches all within 20 days. That was the confirmation we needed. We were no longer looking at a promising player, we were looking at a talent ready for Europe.
He won the Premier League Golden Boot on four occasions (2018, 2019, 2022 and 2025) and was named PFA Player of the Year twice (2018 and 2025)
We approached him through our former player, Hussein Yasser, then we started working on him. We were not looking for the biggest club, we were looking for the right step. At that time, Basel were also looking for a replacement for Xherdan Shaqiri, who was close to joining Bayern Munich. They showed strong interest and invited Salah for a trial but his club were expecting a transfer offer, not a trial. They even requested an insurance policy of around €5million during his trial at Basel.
Then, the Egyptian Olympic national team had a training camp in Switzerland, including a friendly against Basel. We decided it would be better for Salah to play that match first, instead of starting the trial immediately. And that decision was crucial. He came on in the second half and scored two goals. From that moment, Basel were convinced.
After the trial, there was still strong interest from big Egyptian clubs, and his club was not fully convinced about selling him abroad. So we arranged a TV interview for Salah, where he stated that his dream was to move to Europe and asked his club to allow the transfer.
Once he joined Basel, he adapted very quickly. The Swiss media soon called him the ‘Egyptian Usain Bolt’. He was smart, disciplined, and had the mentality to overcome the challenges and the club supported him a lot, including the head coach Heiko Vogel.
His international coaches immediately knew they were working with a freak of nature. The quality which distinguished him is not the obvious one…
DIAA EL-SAYED
Mentor and former Egypt coach
I shared many great periods with Salah. I saw him from the very beginning. I worked with him in the Under-17 national team, the Under-20s, then later the seniors.
What distinguishes Salah the most is he always has ambition and what makes Salah special is that he always worked on correcting his weaknesses.
He actually played left-back at his first club, Al Mokawloon Al Arab. Sometimes in academies, when a player is left-footed, some coaches automatically think of him as a left-back or left winger. But with tactical development and his incredible speed and talent, he moved forward. At that time, systems like 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1 were developing, and it was not very common for wingers to score many goals, they used to stay wide and not cut inside like a second striker. Over time, Salah developed this aspect and became prolific.
A young Salah with his first club, Al Mokawloon Al Arab, where he started as a left back
Playing for Egypt has always been incredibly important to Salah
We remain in contact. Salah is a very kind and committed person, deeply devoted to his family and to his hometown, Nagrig. He is always helping others and contributing quietly.
I will never forget a ceremony held in Egypt to honour him as a legend we are proud of. I was one of the attendees and, when he was asked about who inspired him, I was surprised that he mentioned me and said that ‘Captain Diaa El-Sayed’ was one of his early inspirations. That meant so much to me. It showed his loyalty and appreciation for the people who were part of his journey.
We were closely connected through our work together in the youth national teams, the Under-20 team, and twice with the senior national team. Altogether, we worked together for more than 10 or 11 years. Of course, I am very grateful for that experience.
Salah’s first big European move in 2012 took him to Basel, Switzerland, where the story of his first day contradicts all that was to follow at Anfield…
HEIKO VOGEL
Salah’s former Basel coach
Gegge (Georg Heitz, the club’s sporting director) and I told him: ‘Listen, just train as you like – we’ve already made our decision anyway’. Then he trained on the first day; everyone watched the session and he was so off it we wondered if he might have a twin brother and we’d signed the wrong one! The second day was a bit better, but not good. And then came the third day.
It was then that he destroyed everything, he was really unstoppable. Rarely have I seen such a dominant appearance in two-on-five as on that third day. It was absolutely extraordinary. He was so agile, so explosive. If he had the ball on his left foot, it was a goal.
‘Mo destroyed everything in training,’ says former Basel coach Heiko Vogel. ‘He was really unstoppable’
Signing for Basel in 2012 with sporting director Georg Heitz
And here are the three German clubs who told his first agents: ‘No thanks, not for us’….
SASCHA EMPACHER
CEO Spocs agency, Salah’s former agent
People see the world star today but the journey from Africa is never easy.
Yahia and Ibrahim in our Cairo office got a video highlights package together and we sent it to a couple of clubs. Basel and Sporting Braga came back. Freiburg, Hamburg and Cologne all turned him down but Basel invited him for trial. Mo had been playing for Al Mokawloon, the Arab contractors club, which was good because barely anyone was watching them. If it had been a bigger club we may have struggled to get him out. But there is so much pressure on the player making that strong first impression.
Mo was very curious. You know it was his first experience of snow. His English wasn’t good but he learned very quickly. We’d go to the Basel Carnival, or play FIFA on the computer. But all the time he trained very hard. It’s very rare what we saw in Mo’s eyes, that drive.
In 2013, we became aware of Liverpool’s interest. They talked for around three months but Basel’s price was too high for them. Wolfsburg, Napoli, Monchengladbach were all in while Manchester United and Tottenham were watching but then Chelsea came in. It was done quick. Jose Mourinho spoke to Mo and that was all the motivation he needed. But he always liked Liverpool.
Salah with his first agent Sascha Empacher (middle) and Egypt and former Basel team-mate Mohamed Elneny (right)
And arriving at Chelsea in January 2014 alongside representatives Yahia Aly, Empacher and Ibrahim Azab
Today, our duty is to keep providing chances for players from Africa. We have a Nigerian, Angelo Agbejoye. A fast, left-footed right winger. He went on trial at Manchester City but was ill while there so he is waiting for another chance. Everyone wants the next Mo Salah.
Chelsea signed Salah from under Liverpool’s noses for £11m but his time under Jose Mourinho there was a disaster. That episode left the club captain with abiding regrets….
JOHN TERRY
Former Chelsea captain
It is still my one regret or disappointment that I didn’t recognise the situation Mo and also Kevin De Bruyne were in when they joined Chelsea.
Those early years under Jose Mourinho, our training sessions were more intense, and at a higher level than a game in the Premier League on a weekend because you are playing against the likes of Didier Drogba day in and day out. These guys came in and they were way below that.
I was on them, I was aggressive with them, saying ‘the level is here (pointing), so you need to train better’. I softened as the years went on, but when those guys were there I was very disciplined in the group and very strong. I wanted to get the most out of people. But it only happened for them when they moved away to a lesser club and learned.
They probably needed an arm around the shoulder, a sit-down and a discussion and maybe I could have helped them settle in. Mo was very raw, very young and I didn’t see him going to these levels. Unfortunately, back in the day, he wasn’t ready to come into Chelsea. But fair play to him, he has been incredible ever since. The numbers he has returned, he’ll go down as a Premier League great, as an all-time great in world football as well. It’s important for him to go somewhere next where he is going to enjoy his football.
John Terry came up against Salah while he played for Basel, and they played 10 times together with Chelsea but Terry regrets being too hard on a young Salah in training
A coffee drinker like none other and a player whose talents revealed what a mistake Chelsea had made – that’s how they viewed him at Fiorentina, where he went next and found redemption
ALESSANDRO DIAMANTI
Ex-forward with Fiorentina where Salah went on loan from Chelsea
I always teased him because he constantly had a cappuccino in hand. Before and after training, cappuccino. I would always joke: ‘One of these days you’ll s**t yourself.’ It was funny to see him constantly with that huge cup.
He’s a down-to-earth, extremely funny guy, and undoubtedly an absolute champion. I always had a wonderful relationship with Momo. I spoke English, he didn’t speak Italian yet, so I took him under my wing in the locker room. He had arrived from the Premier League and we knew he was strong, but in training we initially had doubts.
Although fast, he wasn’t technically devastating like he is now. Once he got in shape, he proved to be in another category, with incredible speed. He did, however, miss a lot of goals; he was better at creating chances.
Being a playmaker, I looked for him in space and he had a motor, so he was easy to find. An incredible guy.
‘He’s a down-to-earth, extremely funny guy,’ says Alessandro Diamanti who was a teammate of Salah’s at Fiorentina, ‘and undoubtedly an absolute champion. I always had a wonderful relationship with Momo’
Salah at Fiorentina where ‘he missed a lot of goals; he was better at creating chances,’ says Diamanti
There was still work to do with his next loan to Roma but in the Eternal City, he found a mentor who would shape him for life…
LUCIANO SPALLETTI
Juventus coach, formerly Roma. Regarded by Salah as the ‘best coach I’ve ever had’
I once showed video footage of him to the team before training, after we beat Palermo, then to a press conference, to show the ‘correct behaviour’ of a player.
‘Markers needed a motorbike to catch him,’ says Luciano Spalletti who was Salah’s coach at Roma. ‘He has such blistering pace’
We were 4-0 up, he had scored two and in the 75th minute, he chased back 60 yards to retrieve the ball. I said this is our example. These are the habits that go beyond the movements and situations that everyone sees.
Markers needed a motorbike to catch him. He has such blistering pace. Sometimes we told him if he didn’t pass to a better-placed colleague, he would have to pay for the squad’s dinner. That he would have to go to the cash machine! He worked hard every day with me on the training ground, and at home, always just to be better.
