No fancy haircuts, no tattoos, no over the top celebrations; Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah just goes about his football in the simplest of manners possible. The Egyptian stalwart has been on a mission this season and continues to write his name into the history books. He reached 100 Premier League goals for the club and, in doing so, became the fifth quickest player in league’s history to achieve to the milestone.
To say that Mohamed Salah had a fairytale entry into Liverpool Football Club would be an understatement. In his very first season, he broke Cristiano Ronaldo’s record for the most goals scored in a single 38-game Premier League season. He netted 32 times in that remarkable season in the domestic league, and bagged 10 goals in the UEFA Champions League as well.
The 29-year-old started his European football career at Basel in Switzerland and quickly moved to Chelsea. But only at AS Roma in Italy, he actually started showing signs of being a star performer and one the club could depend on. Liverpool, who wanted to sign him when he moved to Chelsea, finally had enough cash from the Philippe Coutinho sale to sign him and they did.
The Merseyside club, at that time, were looking for their first league title in 28 years, and under Jurgen Klopp they were looking the closest they had ever gotten to getting it. Mo Salah arrived at Liverpool and turned their season around, he was the star that they always needed. In his first season at the club, he carried the team into the UEFA Champions League final, which they eventually lost to record-holders Real Madrid.
The very next season, Mo Salah played an instrumental role in one of the closest title races to ever happen in Premier League’s history. Liverpool finished 2nd at 97 points only behind winners Manchester City at 99, which also made them the team with the highest points to ever lose the Premier League title. That season wasn’t just about losing as Mo Salah carried Liverpool to another UEFA Champions League final and this time they defeated fellow English club Tottenham Spurs to lift the trophy for a record 6th time in their history – the most by an English club ever.
In his 3rd season at the club, Liverpool finally won the Premier League title after 30 long years. In his three seasons at the club, he along with Virgil Van Dijk, remained two of the most important players in Liverpool’s resurgence.
Liverpool’s form dropped last season due to injuries in various positions, but the Egyptian winger kept on scoring for fun and was the only glimmer of hope in an otherwise disappointing run. His crucial goals, when the rest of the team was down, led Liverpool to just creeping into the top 4 during the final gameweek, making them qualify for the UEFA Champions League once again.
Mohamed Salah’s fifth season has started just as his previous four had. He also became the first player to ever to score a Premier League hat trick at Old Trafford. He’s only the second Liverpool player ever to net three in a game there in all competitions. Salah also became the first Liverpool player to score three games in a row at Old Trafford.
Mohamed Salah has also become the second-highest scoring African player in the UEFA Champions League history. Salah netted twice against FC Porto on Wednesday to increase his tally of goals in the competition to 34, taking him clear of Samuel Eto’o (30). He is now only behind Didier Drogba (44) in the list of goals and has already smashed the Chelsea legend’s record in the Premier League this season.
His record of 17 goals and seven assists in 17 appearances has seen many hail the Egyptian as the best player in the world, while he has also been nominated for The Best FIFA Men’s Player of the Year award.