It was slightly blighted by the fact it ended up being part of a Google Pixel commercial but this was a picture to sum up a glorious season.
After scoring against Tottenham on the day Liverpool won their 20th league title, in Arne Slot‘s debut season, Mohamed Salah was given a mobile phone from a club staffer in the Kop and took a picture of himself with thousands of jubilant fans behind him. Those beaming smiles and the genuine joy etched on faces that day made Salah, this boy who had risen from the streets of Nagrig and tackled adversity head on every day since, prouder than ever before in a Liverpool shirt.
Within minutes, the selfie was everywhere on social media and it proved the defining image of the title win: the main man who had given those supporters so many days they will remember for the rest of their lives had delivered the Premier League, while contributing to an estimated £308million of commercial revenue.
Liverpool were a machine on and off the pitch and Salah was at the heart of it all, that goal against Spurs one of an astonishing 47 goal involvements in 38 league games. In all competitions it was 57 goal involvements in 52 games, just three shy of his 2017-18 tally when he first took the league by storm.
In many ways, though, this was his best season in a Liverpool shirt, and perhaps the greatest individual season we have ever seen in the Premier League. In 2017-18, there was a supporting cast of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and the flying full backs. The Slot Machine, by contrast, was built around Salah.
That selfie was one of several pictures that fans will remember from that season, aside from the celebrations. Before it, came Salah sitting on a throne wearing a crown to toast his new contract and, way back in the autumn, a clip of him saying he was ‘more out than in’.
After scoring on the day Liverpool won their 20th league title, Mohamed Salah was given a mobile phone from a club staffer and took a selfie in front of thousands of jubilant fans
It was just one of several pictures that fans will remember from that season, aside from the celebrations. Before it came Salah sitting on a throne wearing a crown to toast his new deal
That saga, which felt like it dragged on for ever, was a constant and labyrinthine subplot to a season that culminated in glory.
Going into the campaign, there were no guarantees on anything. Liverpool were probably the third favourites for the Premier League title and new boss Slot was an unknown quantity, with sizeable shoes to fill after Jurgen Klopp’s departure.
When the German announced his exit to the squad in January 2024, Salah was taken aback just like the rest of the world outside of a select few club insiders. The Egyptian was just checking in for some rehab on a hamstring injury when he said hello to Klopp’s agent, Marc Kosicke, who was not a regular visitor to the training ground. ‘The boss must be signing a new deal,’ Salah mused.
But Virgil van Dijk, the captain and only player who knew what Klopp was about to announce, soon nudged Salah and whispered that he was leaving. This happened 10 minutes before the news went public on social media and most in the room were shellshocked.
A few months later, as the Klopp farewell tour reached one of its final legs and with Liverpool’s title tilt now in tatters, Salah, having been left on the bench at West Ham, had a touchline row with his boss that cast a shadow going into the Egyptian’s final year of his contract.
It had been a difficult season for the forward. Not on the pitch, really – he had scored 25 times and assisted 14 in Klopp’s final campaign, yet only four had come in the final 18 league games as Manchester City eventually won their fourth league title in a row.
Salah had been hampered by a hamstring injury suffered at the Africa Cup of Nations that sparked a club-versus-country row after Klopp let it slip he would be returning back to Merseyside from the Ivory Coast for rehabilitation.
In the next few months, Egypt tried to call up Salah for international fixtures but Liverpool weren’t keen given his fitness issues – he had already rushed back once and paid for it. It led to national team boss Hossam Hassan struggling to contact his star player.
Salah, having been left on the bench at West Ham in April 2024, had a touchline row with Jurgen Klopp that cast a shadow going into the Egyptian’s final year of his contract
Salah had been hampered by a hamstring injury suffered at the Africa Cup of Nations that sparked a club-versus-country row
But just like he did after the disappointment of the 2018 Champions League final, when Sergio Ramos grappled him to the ground – wrecking his shoulder ahead of his first World Cup – Salah went kite-surfing and fishing and collected his head after a trying time.
Soon, sources say he was back to his bubbly self, with a point to prove. Lots of the key men of the Klopp era had departed the club by the start of the 2024-25 season and Salah, now into his 30s, knew it was his time to be a leader.
The hunger was evident on the 2024 summer tour of the United States, with stops in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and South Carolina. One legacy from the Klopp era was how Liverpool liked to limit the burden on stars during these tours. A decade ago, coaches would notice how players would come back from the trips already drained of energy given the number of commercial activities they had been asked to do.
Under Klopp and Slot, they would send club legends like Ian Rush, Sir Kenny Dalglish et al to the events, while the players would rest. So Salah and Co spent a lot of that fortnight in hotel rooms, though there was still time for trips to spots like the famed steps from the Rocky movies, in Philadelphia.
When he was not putting on table tennis competitions – which he always wins, of course – Salah was studying clips of past games, working out how to get better and which areas of his game he needed to work on. He would also ask for videos of training sessions.
The Egyptian has added layers to his game every year. As revealed in the previous chapter by his personal coach Jaime Pabon, one summer Salah worked on how to remain focused when charging through on goal. Another year, he spent hours on his outside-of-the-foot crosses.
Another former colleague, Heiko Vogel, his first manager in Europe, tells us: ‘It was obvious that he was the type of player who can decide a match single-handedly in a moment. One of his greatest strengths, however, is his ability to learn quickly.
‘This enabled him to reach new levels in a very short time. He has continuously improved, and that is what allowed him to build a world-class career. His quality is absolutely exceptional but Mo has outstanding game intelligence, and his instinct for situations is highly developed.’
Lots of the key men of the Klopp era had departed the club by the start of the 2024-25 season and Salah, now into his 30s, knew it was his time to be a leader
The hunger was evident on the 2024 summer tour of the United States, with stops in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and South Carolina
Given the off-field turbulence, at the start of 2024-25, not many outsiders expected a great deal from either Liverpool or Salah. A team in transition and a player who, to some, had been replaced as the poster boy of the league by the likes of Erling Haaland.
But from the early weeks of the season, it was evident Salah meant business. Having had a longer pre-season than most in the league, who were off playing at Euro 2024 or the Copa America, the Egyptian looked fitter than ever. Arguably, he was better on the pitch, too.
There were trademarked curling efforts with his left foot, unstoppable penalties, finessed finishes at the end of sweeping moves and ruthless counter-attacks.
When Slot took over, he knew he was inheriting a team on the cusp of greatness. Klopp had left behind a squad in fine health and the Dutchman, who had joined from Feyenoord, knew just a few tweaks could get the best out of a side who were well in the title race for the vast majority of the previous campaign.
One thing Slot thought he could improve was the defensive side of Salah’s game which, in turn, would allow the Reds to gain more control. Having seen the likes of Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta revert to a more regimented style to reduce risk, Slot knew this controlled way of playing could be the way forward in England.
Any plans to ask Salah to completely adapt to his style of play were soon shelved, though. In a chat early in Slot’s tenure, the pair had a frank conversation where they shook hands on a trade-off: the forward would put in a very limited defensive shift which would naturally see Liverpool concede chances at one end but, they agreed, give them much more attacking impetus at the other.
It meant players like right back Trent Alexander-Arnold probably had less creative licence, while midfielder Ryan Gravenberch would have to cover ground on that side.
Teams did not know how to handle Salah’s threat on the counter-attack for the vast majority of the campaign. The Egyptian was soon scoring week after week, breaking records and climbing up Liverpool’s all-time top scorer list.
A deal with Arne Slot meant Salah was soon scoring week after week, breaking records and climbing up Liverpool’s all-time top scorer list
When he surpassed Billy Liddell, so good that his team at the time was nicknamed ‘Liddellpool’, we managed to track down his son David, in his mid-70s. ‘I am still an avid supporter of Liverpool and I have this silly thing that if I am not wearing my scarf, they lose,’ he said, before joking: ‘It will stay in the wardrobe this weekend as Salah is about to surpass him!’
Fighting back tears as we went through the golden memories, David spoke about modern legends like Salah and how their young kids might remember them. He added: ‘I suppose we were aware he was special – when we went into town, everybody said hello. As regards football, he did not talk much about it to us really. As kids, we knew he was a superstar. But to us, he was just a dad.’
It will be the same for Salah’s two young daughters now, who both love living in north-west England and are always bundles of energy in the Anfield tunnel when they are given licence to roam around the stadium where their father has been a true modern-day great.
This astonishing campaign was one of the greatest we have ever seen on these shores – and a privilege to watch. Finally, in March, it led to Salah being rewarded with a mega, £400,000-a-week contract, though even that figure is believed to be incredibly conservative, with his true pay packet far greater when bonuses and commercial deals are factored in.
A happy Salah in the form of his life with two more years at the club. What could possibly go wrong?
COMING TOMORROW: The Salah Files – Part 5: Scorched Earth
