Mohamed Salah Hamed Mahrous Ghaly also known as Mo Salah, is an Egyptian professional footballer who plays as a right winger or forward for Premier League club Liverpool and captains the Egypt national team. Considered one of the best players of his generation and amongst the greatest African players of all time, he is known for his clinical finishing, dribbling and speed.

Salah started his senior career in 2010 playing for Al Mokawloon, departing in 2012 to join Basel, where he won two Swiss Super League titles. In 2014, Salah joined Chelsea for a reported fee of £11 million, but limited game time led to successive loans to Fiorentina and Roma, who later signed him permanently for €15 million. In the 2016–17 season, Salah was a key figure in Roma's unsuccessful title bid, reaching double figures in both goals and assists. In 2017, Salah signed for Liverpool for a then-club record transfer of £36.9 million. In his first season, he set the record for most Premier League goals scored (32) in a 38-game season and helped Liverpool to the 2018 UEFA Champions League Final. Having formed a formidable attacking trio with Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mané after the departure of Philippe Coutinho, Salah went on to be an integral player in the club's Champions League and Premier League title successes the following two seasons, and has since also won the FA Cup and the League Cup. Salah has achieved numerous individual accolades, including two PFA Players' Player of the Year awards, three Premier League Golden Boots, the Premier League Player of the Season, the Premier League Playmaker of the Season, and finished third for the Best FIFA Men's Player in 2018 and 2021. He received the 2018 FIFA Puskás Award for his winning strike in the first Merseyside derby of the 2017–18 season. In 2023, Salah became Liverpool's Premier League top goalscorer, surpassing Robbie Fowler.

Club career

2006–10: Youth teams

Salah started out playing for the youth setups of local teams Ittihad Basyoun and Othmason Tanta. He names Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane and Francesco Totti as his childhood idols. In 2006, he joined the youth team of Al Mokawloon aged 14 after being spotted by a scout who had originally come to watch another child play but was distracted by Salah. Salah frequently had to miss school to make the 3 hour journey to training. When Salah was 15 he was noticed by then first team manager Mohamed Radwan, who moved him to the senior squad immediately. Salah had to be given a special diet and training program due to his muscles not being fully formed because of his young age.

2010–12: Senior team appearances

Salah made his senior team debut in the Egyptian Premier League coming on as a substitute on 3 May 2010 in a 1–1 away draw against El Mansoura. During the 2010–11 season Salah continued earning minutes on the pitch, eventually becoming a regular in the team. Even though he was getting regular game time, Salah struggled to score. In the dressing room after matches he would sometimes be in tears because of this, and Radwan says it only motivated him to become better. He scored his first goal for them on 25 December 2010 in a 1–1 away draw against Al Ahly. He remained a regular for Al Mokawloon, appearing in every game of the 2011–12 season. Following the Port Said Stadium riot on 1 February 2012, the Egyptian Premier League was suspended, and on 10 March 2012, the Egyptian Football Association announced their decision to cancel the remainder of the season.

Basel

2012–13: Development and breakthrough

Salah playing for Basel away at Zenit St Petersburg in the UEFA Europa League in March 2013
Swiss Super League club Basel had been monitoring Salah for some time, so following the Egyptian Premier League suspension, the club organised a friendly match with the Egypt U-23 team. The match took place on 16 March at the Stadion Rankhof in Basel, and despite only playing the second half, Salah scored twice, helping the Egyptians to a 4–3 win. Basel subsequently invited Salah to remain in the city for a week's training. On 10 April 2012, it was announced that Salah had signed for Basel on a four-year contract starting from 15 June 2012. He initially found it difficult to settle, having arrived unable to speak the language and been signed as a replacement for fan-favourite Xherdan Shaqiri (whom he would later play alongside at Liverpool). Salah scored on his unofficial debut on 23 June 2012 against Steaua București during a friendly match, a 4–2 defeat. He made his official Basel debut in a UEFA Champions League preliminary stage match against the Norwegian club Molde on 8 August, coming on as a substitute in the 74th minute. He made his league debut on 12 August against Thun, playing the full match.

He scored his first league goal a week later, the second goal in the 2–0 home win against Lausanne. Salah scored his first Europa League goal in the quarter-finals on 11 April 2013, as Basel advanced to the semi-finals by beating Tottenham Hotspur 4–1 on penalties after a 4–4 aggregate draw. In the semi-final on 2 May, Salah scored against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, although they were beaten 5–2 on aggregate. Despite late disappointment in Europe, Basel comfortably won the Swiss Super League season 2012–13 Championship title and finished runners-up in the Swiss Cup.

2013–14: Final season and league championship

Ahead of the 2013–14 Swiss Super League season, Salah was a member of the Basel team that won the 2013 Uhrencup. Salah scored in his first league appearance of the season against Aarau on 13 July 2013. He scored his first Champions League goal a month later against Maccabi Tel Aviv on 6 August 2013 in the third qualifying round. Salah was the subject of major controversy following the game, after he appeared to deliberately avoid shaking hands with the players of the Israeli club in both the home and away legs.

Chelsea

2013–14: Entry into first-team squad

On 23 January 2014, Chelsea announced that a deal had been agreed with Basel to sign Salah for a fee reported to be in the region of £11 million. Three days later the transfer was completed, making him the first Egyptian to sign for the London-based club. Liverpool had been keen to sign the Basel striker, and had made an offer of £11 million but were beaten to his signature by the Blues.

On 8 February, Salah made his debut for Chelsea in the Premier League, coming on as a substitute in the 3–0 win over Newcastle United. Seven games later, on 22 March, Salah scored his first goal for Chelsea against Arsenal at Stamford Bridge in the London Derby, coming on as a substitute for Oscar, in a match which ended with a 6–0 win for the Blues. Then, on 5 April, Salah opened the scoring and later won a penalty and assisted the third goal in Chelsea's 3–0 win over Stoke City.

Liverpool

2017–18: Record-breaking individual success

Salah playing for Liverpool in 2017. His performances in the 2017–18 season saw him receive numerous accolades, including PFA Players' Player of the Year and the Football Writers' Player of the Year.
On 22 June 2017, Salah agreed a transfer to Liverpool. He signed a long-term contract with the Reds for an initial £36.5m fee that could rise to £43m. The fee was a club record, eclipsing the £35m spent on Andy Carroll in 2011. He was assigned the number 11 shirt previously worn by Roberto Firmino who instead switched to number 9. He joined the club on 1 July upon the opening of the summer transfer window, becoming Liverpool's first Egyptian player. He scored on his Premier League debut against Watford in a 3–3 draw on 12 August. On 24 August, Salah scored his second goal for Liverpool, in a 2017–18 UEFA Champions League play-off round 4–2 win (6–3 agg) against Hoffenheim, his first goal at Anfield. Three days later, Salah scored and assisted a goal in a 4–0 victory over Arsenal. For his performances in August, Salah was awarded Player of the Month by Liverpool supporters. On 17 October, Salah netted twice in a 7–0 Champions League win over Maribor, helping Liverpool to the joint-largest ever away win in the competition, and the largest away win by an English club.

2018–19: European champion and second Golden Boot

Salah celebrating victory in the UEFA Champions League with teammate Dejan Lovren.
On 2 July 2018, Salah signed a new long-term contract with Liverpool. Manager Jürgen Klopp said the news was important as a statement of intent in terms of Liverpool's status in the football world in having Salah commit himself further to the club. On 12 August, Salah scored Liverpool's first goal of the season, in a 4–0 win over West Ham United. On 20 August, in a 2–0 away win over Crystal Palace, Salah played a part in both of Liverpool's goals; winning a penalty for the first, and providing an assist for Sadio Mané for the second. Five days later, Salah scored the only goal in Liverpool's 1–0 win over Brighton.

2019–20: Premier League champion

On 9 August 2019, Salah scored Liverpool's second goal in a 4–1 win against Norwich City in the opening game of the 2019–20 Premier League season. In the 2019 UEFA Super Cup on 14 August, Salah scored Liverpool's fifth and ultimately decisive penalty in a 5–4 penalty shoot-out win against Chelsea, after the game had finished 2–2 after extra-time. In December, Salah ended fifth in the voting polls for the 2019 Ballon d'Or, and made his 100th Premier League appearance later in the month, marking the occasion with a goal and assist in Liverpool's 3–0 win over Bournemouth. Later that month, Liverpool won the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup, with Salah receiving the Golden Ball award for Player of the Tournament.

2022–23: Contract extension and European records

On 1 July 2022, Salah signed a new contract with Liverpool for another 3 years at the club becoming Liverpool's highest paid player with £350k a week lasting until at least 2025. On 30 July 2022, Salah scored a penalty and assisted a goal in a 3–1 FA Community Shield victory against Manchester City. On 6 August 2022, Salah began the new Premier League campaign by scoring one goal and assisting another in a 2–2 draw away at Fulham. With his eighth goal in Premier League opening matches, he became the first player to score on the opening day six seasons in a row, and equaled the record of total goals on opening days set by Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard, and Alan Shearer. On 12 October, Salah came off the bench in a UEFA Champions League match away to Rangers, before scoring three goals in the space of six minutes and twelve seconds of an eventual 7–1 win. This saw him break Bafétimbi Gomis's record for the fastest Champions League hat-trick of all time. With 38 goals, he also became the highest goalscorer for an English side, beating out Didier Drogba and Sergio Aguero.

2023–24

In the preseason of the 2023–24 season, Salah was the recipient of a two-year contract offer worth £155m from Saudi Pro League side Al-Ittihad. Had Salah accepted the offer, he would have joined his former teammate Fabinho in Jeddah and Liverpool would have received a £52m transfer fee. However, the agent of Salah, Ramy Abbas Issa, stated on 7 August 2023 that his client was “committed" to Liverpool.

Style of play

Analysis

Salah is best known for his speed, dribbling ability and finishing.
Regarded as a quick, mobile, hard-working and tactical player, with good technique and an eye for goal, Salah is predominantly known for his speed, movement, clinical finishing, agility, dribbling skills, first touch, and ball control, as well as his ability to use both his pace and flair on the ball in order to beat opponents, and create scoring opportunities for himself or his teammates. A versatile forward, he primarily plays as a winger on the right flank, a position which allows him to cut into the centre onto his stronger left foot, and either shoot on goal or play quick exchanges with other players and make runs in behind the defence towards goal. He can also play in the centre behind the main striker as either an attacking midfielder or second striker.

On his increased threat in front of goal since joining Liverpool, Salah credits Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp’s request for him to occupy more advanced central positions, often operating as a main striker, with the forward telling ESPN, "I play closer to the goal than any club before." Salah initially started his career at the left-back position, however, following a 4–0 win over the youth team of Egyptian club ENPPI, Salah was in tears for not scoring after missing several clear chances; this made his coach realise his passion for scoring goals, forcing him to move him to a forward position.

Personal life

Salah and his wife, Maggi, married in 2013. Their daughter, Makka, born in 2014, is named in honour of the Islamic holy city of Mecca. He had another daughter, Kayan, born in 2020. Salah is Muslim and celebrates goals by performing the sujud. On this goal celebration, Salah told CNN, "It's something like praying or thanking God for what I have received, but yeah, it's just praying and praying for a win. I've always done that since I was young, everywhere."

Salah enjoys playing football on his PlayStation, and has confessed jokingly that "Salah in the video game is stronger than the real one". Salah has also revealed that his favourite food is kushari, an Egyptian working class dish in origin that is usually made from rice, pasta and lentils and topped with a variety of options including spiced tomatoes, chickpeas and onions.

During the 2018 Egyptian presidential election, a large number of spoilt ballot papers, possibly more than a million, involved voters crossing out both names and writing Salah's name instead.

In November 2020, Salah tested positive for COVID-19.

Outside football

Sponsors

Salah has a sponsorship deal with sportswear and equipment supplier Adidas: he wears Adidas X18 football boots. He appeared in an Adidas 2018 World Cup commercial along with other players in the Adidas stable, including David Beckham, Lionel Messi and Paul Pogba, and singer Pharrell Williams.

In March 2018, Salah appeared in an advertisement for Vodafone Egypt. Filmed visiting several Merseyside landmarks, the video was originally released in Arabic (but was also translated to English). A month later, he mentioned that he was "insulted" after his image was displayed across the national team's plane without his permission before the start of the World Cup that year, as the official sponsor of the national team, WE, is a rival of his sponsor.

Charity

Salah is active in regeneration projects in Nagrig, his hometown where 65% of people live in poverty, donating money to help build a school and hospital. The project includes the construction of an Al-Azhar institute and an ambulance unit. In an interview with Al-Masry Al-Youm, Salah's father claimed that his son refused to accept any financial assistance with the project.

During his time in Egypt, Salah's family was once robbed, however, the thief was caught and arrested by police, with Salah's father preparing to press charges against him, but Mohamed convinced him to drop the case. Afterwards, Salah helped the thief financially, giving him some money and trying to find him a job. In February 2018, following a match against Tottenham, Salah donated a replica shirt to young supporter Mohamed Abdel Karim, who was previously pictured wearing a jumper reading Salah's name and shirt number. Moreover, Mohamed Salah has helped more than 450 families by giving them monthly allowances and he also helped the government by giving approximately $300,000 when the country was experiencing an economic crisis.

On 13 August 2022, a fire broke out at Abu Sefein Church in Giza, Egypt, with 41 people losing their lives as a result. Salah subsequently expressed his condolences on Twitter, and made a donation of three million Egyptian pounds to help rebuild the church.

Records

Europe

• Fastest hat-trick in a UEFA Champions League match: 6 minutes and 12 seconds against Rangers, 12 October 2022
• Most Champions League goals for an English club: 41 goals for Liverpool
• Quickest UEFA Champions League hat-trick by a substitute: 13 minutes against Rangers, 12 October 2022
• Most goals scored in UEFA club competitions by an African player: 53 goals
• Fewest touches ever to score hat-trick in a UEFA Champions League match: 9 touches
• All-time African top goalscorer in the UEFA Champions League history: 44 goals
   

England

• Most goals by an African player in a Premier League season: 32 goals in 2017–18
• Most Premier League Player of the Month awards in a single season: 3 (November 2017, February 2018 and March 2018)
• Most left-footed goals scored in a season: 25 goals in 2017–18
• Most teams scored against in a Premier League season: 17 teams (shared with Ian Wright and Robin van Persie)
• First player to outscore three Premier League teams in a Premier League season: West Brom (31), Swansea City (28) and Huddersfield Town (28) in 2017–18
• First player to score on the opening day of six consecutive Premier League seasons: (2017–18 to 2022–23)
• Highest-scoring African player in Premier League history: 140 goals
• Most Premier League goals scored on the opening weekend: 8 goals (shared with Alan Shearer and Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney)
• Most left-footed goals scored in Premier League history: 112 goals

Liverpool

• Most goals in a debut season: 44 goals in 2017–18
• Most European goals in a season: 11 goals in 2017–18 (shared with Roberto Firmino)
• Most games scored in during a single campaign: 34 games in 2017–18
• Most top-flight goals in a season by a Liverpool player: 32 goals in Premier League 2017–18 (shared with Ian Rush)
• Most Liverpool Player of the Month awards in a season: 7 months in 2017–18
• Fastest player to score 50 goals for Liverpool: 65 games in 2018–19
• Fastest Liverpool player to score 50 Premier League goals: 69 games in 2018–19
• Most goals in the first 100 appearances overall in Liverpool history: 69 goals
• Most goals in first 100 Premier League appearances in Liverpool history: 70 goals
• All-time Liverpool top goalscorer in the UEFA Champions League: 41 goals
• First Liverpool player to score 20+ goals in four different Premier League seasons: 2017–18, 2018–19, 2020–21, 2021–22
• Fastest player to score 100 top-flight goals in Liverpool history: 151 games
• Most consecutive games a player has scored for Liverpool: 10 games in 2021–22
• All-time Liverpool top goalscorer in European competitions history: 42 goals
• All-time Liverpool top goalscorer in the Premier League: 138 goals
• Liverpool highest-ever away goalscorer in the Premier League: 58 goals
• Most consecutive games a player has scored for Liverpool at Anfield: 9 games in 2022–23

Egypt

• Egypt's all-time highest scorer in FIFA World Cup history: 2 goals in 2018 (shared with Abdulrahman Fawzi, 2 goals in 1934)
• Egypt's all-time highest scorer in CAF Africa Cup of Nations qualification: 18 goals
• Highest-scoring player in Egypt's football history with clubs and national team: 314 goals

Italy

• Highest-scoring Egyptian in Serie A history: 35 goals in 81 games.