Mohamed Salah

Mohamed Salah is an Egyptian footballer who plays as a forward.

He moved to Liverpool FC in a £39m deal from Serie A giants AS Roma in the 2017 summer transfer window.

Salah broke Robbie Fowler’s Liverpool FC record when he became the first player to score nine times in his opening 12 Premier League games for the Merseyside club.

Mohamed started his professional career with Egyptian club Al Mokawloon before moving to Swiss club Basel in 2011.

His impressive performances for Basel caught the attention of Chelsea FC and the west London side won the race to sign him in a £14m deal in 2014.

However, Salah struggled to impress at Stamford Bridge and he was sent on loan to Fiorentina and AS Roma – before completing a permanent move to Roma in 2016.

Salah is widely considered to be one of world football’s top attacking talents. But how much do you know about his journey to success in football? This is his story.

Early Life

Mohamed began his football career with Egyptian club Al Mokawloon Al Arab SC in 2006.

The Egyptian Premier League season was cut short in 2011-12 to prompt Swiss club Basel to organise a friendly with Egypt’s Under-23 side.

Mohamed scored twice in the second half in a 4-3 win and Basel extended an invitation for him to train with the Swiss club.

Basel

Salah signed a four-year deal with Basel in April 2012 following his impressive performance in the friendly.

He made his Basel debut as a substitute in a 4-2 loss to Norwegian side Molde in the Champions League in September 2012.

Salah scored his first goal in Switzerland’s top flight in a win against Lausanne after making his domestic debut a week earlier.

His first Europa League goal came in a two-legged win against Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League. Salah also got on the score-sheet in a defeat by eventual Europa League winners Chelsea FC.

His second season was a success too. The Egypt international netted twice to help Basel beat Bulgarian side Ludogorets in the Champions League play-off round as they secured a spot in the group stage.

Salah then produced an eye-catching performance at Stamford Bridge as Basel were 2-1 winners against Chelsea FC in the Champions League. He continued his fine record against the south west London side in the return fixture in Switzerland.

He scored 10 times in 29 appearances that season before he secured a move to the Premier League in January 2014.

Salah finished his Basel career as a two-time Swiss title winner.

Chelsea FC

Given his impressive recent record against Chelsea FC, perhaps it wasn’t a surprise to see the Blues lead the race to sign Salah amid interest from their Premier League rivals Liverpool FC and Tottenham Hotspur.

He made his Chelsea FC debut as a substitute in a 3-0 win against Newcastle on 8 February 2014. His first Premier League goal came from the bench in a 4-0 victory over Arsenal in the derby at Stamford Bridge.

The January signing scored again in a 2-0 win over Stoke City but Jose Mourinho used him sparingly.

Salah scored two goals in 11 games in the 2013-14 season for Chelsea FC.

The forward made eight appearances for the Blues in total in the 2014-15 season before Mourinho opted to send Salah on loan to Serie A giants AS Roma midway through the campaign.

Fiorentina Loan

Salah completed an 18-month loan switch to Italian side Fiorentina on transfer deadline day on 2 February 2015.

The Egypt international made his Fiorentina debut in a 3-2 win against Atalanta in Serie A shortly after his transfer.

He scored on his first start in Serie A, netting the opening goal in a victory over Sassuolo.

Salah continued his fine record of scoring against Premier League teams in Europe with another goal against Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League.

He made a brilliant start to the month of March, netting the winner in a 1-0 victory over Inter Milan at San Siro before scoring both goals in a 2-1 win over Juventus in the Coppa Italia.

Salah finished the 2014-15 season with seven goals and four assists in 18 games in all competitions for La Viola.

AS Roma

On 6 August 2015, Salah joined AS Roma on a season-long loan for €5m, with a reported €15m option to make the deal permanent.

Salah, who wore the number 11 shirt, made his AS Roma debut in a 1-1 draw with Hellas Verona in August 2015. His first goal for the Rome outfit came against Sassuolo a month later in a 2-2 draw.

He finished the season with 14 goals and six assists and was named as AS Roma’s player of the season for 2015-16.

Unsurprisingly, the Rome outfit opted to make Salah’s move permanent on 3 August 2016. He signed a three-year deal after AS Roma agreed a £14m deal with Chelsea FC.

He was unable to help AS Roma qualify for the Champions League group stage after a 4-0 loss to Portuguese outfit Porto in the play-off round.

Salah netted in home wins against Udinese and Crotone before he scored away to Napoli to help AS Roma secure a 3-1 win.

He finished the season with a flurry, scoring twice in away victories at Chievo and US Pescara.

Salah ended his second season with career-best figures of 15 goals and 11 assists.

Liverpool FC

Liverpool FC agreed a £39m deal to sign Salah from AS Roma on 22 June 2017. He initially became the most-expensive signing in Liverpool FC’s history before the Reds reached a £48m agreement to sign Naby Keita from RB Leipzig two months later.

Salah scored on his Liverpool debut in a 3-3 draw with Watford at Vicarage Road in their first Premier League game of the season.

The forward then found the net in a 4-2 win against Bundesliga outfit Hoffenheim as Liverpool FC secured a place in the Champions League group stage.

Back in the Premier League, Salah helped Liverpool FC to seal a 4-0 win over Arsenal with a brilliant solo goal in the second half, running the length of the pitch before finishing past hist former team-mate Petr Cech.

Salah continued his goal-scoring run with goals against La Liga side Sevilla, Burnley and Leicester City. After a three-game goal drought, the Egypt forward netted twice in Liverpool FC’s record Champions League 7-0 win at Maribor. He then in the return game at Anfield to take his Champions League tally to four goals.

He also scored in vital victories over FC Porto, Manchester City and his former club AS Roma to help Liverpool FC reach the Champions League final in 2018.

Salah scored 32 times in the Premier League to finish as the division’s leading goal-scorer in 2017-18, landing him the PFA player of the year award.

His season ended on a sour note when Salah dislocated his shoulder in the first half of Liverpool FC’s 3-1 loss to Real Madrid in the Champions League final.

Salah scored 23 goals in 48 games in all competitions in the following campaign as Liverpool FC won the 2019 Champions League final thanks to a 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur.

He then scored 22 goals in 37 games to help Liverpool FC win their first-ever Premier League title in the 2019-20 campaign.

Salah scored a superb hat-trick in Liverpool FC’s 5-0 demolition of Manchester United at Old Trafford in the Premier League on 24 October 2021.

International Career

Salah made his debut for the Egypt national team against Sierra Leone in September 2011. His first goal for his country came in a 2-1 win against Niger in October 2011.

He scored two goals and made two assists to help Egypt reach the 2017 African Cup of Nations final, where his side lost 2-1 to Cameroon.

He played a key role in helping Egypt to reach their first World Cup since 1990. He scored twice in a 2-1 win against Congo as Egypt booked their place at Russia 2018.

He netted his first World Cup goal in a 3-1 loss to Russia before he netted in a 2-1 defeat by Saudi Arabia.

Personal Life

Mohamed married his wife Maggi in 2013. The couple have two daughters together but prefer to keep their personal lives out of the spotlight.

Salah is a Muslim and his daughter Makka, born in 2014, is named in honour of the Islamic holy city of Mecca.

Mohamed Salah – Did You Know?

• Salah became the top African goal-scorer in the Premier League on 24 October 2021, when he scored a hat-trick in the 5-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford. His treble took him to 106 goals in the top flight – ahead of Chelsea FC legend Didier Drogba, on 104 goals.

• His return of 44 goals in 2017-18 in all competitions was the most scored by any Liverpool FC player in a debut season at the club.

• Having represented his country at U20 and U23 level, Salah made his full international debut at the age of just 19.

• The attacker was named as the UAFA Golden Boy and CAF’s Most Promising Talent in 2012 during his first year with Basel.