In The Spotlight
Mohamed Salah – A legacy of goals, titles and cultural impact
In this series, The Straits Times highlights the players or teams to watch in the world of sport. Today, we focus on “Egyptian King” Mohamed Salah, who has called time on his Liverpool career.
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Mohamed Salah, who has announced his departure from Liverpool at the end of the season, will leave the club as a legend after winning multiple trophies and personal accolades.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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- Mohamed Salah, initially seen as a Chelsea flop, joined Liverpool in 2017 for £36.9 million and exceeded expectations by scoring 32 goals in his first season.
- His nine seasons at Liverpool saw him become the club's third-highest goal scorer with 255 goals and the Premier League's fourth-highest with 191 goals.
- The Egypt star announced his departure, expressing deep connection to Liverpool, prompting tributes from teammates, fans, and former figures like Klopp and Moore.
AI generated
When Liverpool signed Mohamed Salah back in 2017, there was little inkling he would eventually leave a club icon.
Pundits had remembered him for a forgettable English Premier League stint at Chelsea under Jose Mourinho in 2014-15.
At the time, former Reds defender Jamie Carragher opined that it was a risk to pay Serie A club AS Roma £36.9 million (S$63.2 million) for someone who had not proven his readiness for the Premier League’s physicality. But those naysayers were quickly made to eat their words by the Egyptian with the electric pace.
In his first season with the Reds, Salah scored 44 goals in all competitions, including 32 in 36 league games, helping Jurgen Klopp’s side finish fourth in the EPL as they reached the Champions League final for the first time in 11 seasons.
He went on to plunder more goals, set records and unequivocally cement his place as an Anfield legend.
The 33-year-old is the club’s third-highest goalscorer with 255 goals, behind only Roger Hunt (285) and Ian Rush (346).
He is also the fourth-highest scorer in the Premier League era with 191 goals (189 with Liverpool), behind Alan Shearer (260), Harry Kane (213) and Wayne Rooney (208).
Besides playing a pivotal role in helping the club end a 30-year top-flight title drought in 2019-20, his goal contributions also enabled them to fill their trophy cabinet with more silverware.
With Salah up front, they won the Champions League in 2019, another Premier League title in 2024-25, one FA Cup, two League Cups, the Club World Cup and a European Super Cup.
He also collected four Premier League Golden Boots, the joint-most with Arsenal legend Thierry Henry, and holds the record for the most Professional Footballers’ Association Player of the Year awards with three.
Rare blip
Fans will remember the man as reticent, but there were also sporadic outbursts – the most recent directed at current Reds manager Arne Slot and the club for throwing him “under the bus”, after being benched for three games in a row in late 2025.
On March 24, the Egyptian showed his softer side when he announced on social media that he will be leaving Merseyside at the end of the season, which prompted an outpouring of tributes.
Former England captain Gary Lineker said: “What a nine years it has been. He’s been a phenomenon.
“He’s an unbelievably brilliant footballer... He scored so many goals. He’s been so consistent for such a long period of time. I’d just like to say ‘Thank you Mo’ for everything that you’ve done for English football, particularly the Premier League, and of course, for Liverpool.”
In his column for The Daily Telegraph, Carragher wrote: “In the pantheon of overseas attacking players to have excelled in England, only Thierry Henry eclipses Salah’s output and consistency.
“While many will argue the merits of players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Eden Hazard, Gianfranco Zola, Dennis Bergkamp or Eric Cantona, none of them produced the same devastating numbers as consistently, season-after-season, as the Egyptian.”
Former Liverpool chief executive Peter Moore called it a privilege to be there at the start of Salah’s journey with the club.
“Some players arrive at Liverpool with big expectations. A very small few leave as legends. Mo Salah leaves as one of the greatest to ever wear the shirt,” said the 70-year-old, who was born in Liverpool.
“I still remember the beginning, the excitement when he signed, the belief that he could be special... but I don’t think any of us could have imagined just how much he would give to this club.
“It was a privilege to be there at the start of this journey, and an even greater privilege to watch him weave his magic on the pitch along the way.”
Wider influence
The Salah effect, however, transcends the pitch.
A 2019 study by Stanford University in the US showed that the devout Muslim had reduced Islamophobia on Merseyside, with the rate of anti-Muslim tweets by Reds fans down by half, while hate crime in the county reduced by 19 per cent since his arrival.
There is even a fan chant at Anfield which includes the line “If he scores another few, then I’ll be Muslim too”, honouring the striker who often celebrates his goals by performing sujud, the Islamic act of prostration to God.
Salah is also known for his generosity, with men’s fashion magazine GQ highlighting his philanthropy in Nagrig, the village north of Cairo where he grew up.
He has bankrolled the building of amenities such as a school, a water-treatment plant and an ambulance station there. Every month, his foundation also provides food and money to the poor.
Once described by Klopp as a “fantastic player and a fantastic human being”, Salah is known for his record-breaking feats on the field, but his legacy off it could prove tough to match, too.
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