Farewell to Salah, Liverpool's 'Egyptian king'
Perhaps the fullest realisation of what Mohamed Salah has achieved at Liverpool will only come with time. But as he prepares to say his goodbyes on Sunday, there is plenty to appreciate and admire in the here and now.
Perhaps the fullest realisation of what Mohamed Salah has achieved at Liverpool will only come with time. But as he prepares to say his goodbyes on Sunday, there is plenty to appreciate and admire in the here and now. There are the standards Salah helped to set that emanated through the club in his and Liverpool 's quest for greatness.
Then there are the records he broke and the trophies his goals brought to Anfield. Above all, there is the sheer joy he brought and the memories he provided. "He [Salah] set completely new standards for a professional football player - how hard you can work, how much you can invest in recovery and everything," Jurgen Klopp told BBC Sport in March.
Klopp was the manager when Liverpool signed the Egyptian from Roma in 2017 for £34m. The deal was questioned because of Salah's previous struggles with Chelsea in the Premier League, but those who scouted him for Liverpool were convinced. Yet even they - the scouts, Klopp, everyone involved - could not have anticipated how Salah would become an all-time great.
His haul of 257 goals for Liverpool has pushed him past the likes of Sir Kenny Dalglish, Robbie Fowler, Michael Owen and Steven Gerrard. Only Ian Rush (346) and Roger Hunt (285) have scored more. "Mohamed knew what he had to do to become a Liverpool legend and he took it to a different level," Rush told BBC Sport.