Mohamed Salah's Era at Liverpool: A Tribute
On Sunday at Anfield, as Brentford arrive and the Kop roars one more time, an era ends. Mohamed Salah’s era.
Nine years on Merseyside. 257 goals. Third on Liverpool’s all-time scoring list and first in the conversation whenever supporters talk about the greatest to wear the shirt.
Salah didn’t just collect numbers. He altered the club’s trajectory. Champions League glory in 2019 cracked open the door; two Premier League titles and a stack of silver followed, with the No.11 almost permanently at the heart of it all. A winger by position, a phenomenon by impact.
Those who shared the dressing room with him know it better than anyone.
“Once-in-a-lifetime”
Virgil van Dijk has spent years watching Salah from the best – and worst – vantage point possible: up close in training, and a few yards behind him on matchdays.
“There are so many words that can be said about him. He’s been an incredible football player, so influential. Absolute special player. Once-in-a-lifetime player, in my opinion,” the captain reflects.
He goes straight to the core of it: goals, assists, and that devastating triangle with Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino. The work without the ball. The example set.
“The amount of goals he scored, the assists, the combination together with Sadio and Bobby, the hard work he puts in. He’s just incredible and [a] leader by example in the things that he does. An incredible player and someone that’s so important for the football club over all those years and a big part of the successes that we have.”
From the back line, Van Dijk saw the standard. In goal, Alisson Becker saw the legacy.
“I think he’s one of the most important players of the history of this club. He’s on the top with so many others,” says the Brazilian.
“His achievements, his records broken, for goals, for assists, for so many things. For time spent in the gym as well! Someone that works really hard, doesn’t rely only on his qualities but improves his qualities on the pitch, in the gym, at home, as everyone can see.”
Alisson’s tribute goes beyond the footballer.
“I think Mo leaves here a legacy as well about standards. He’s someone that you can tell your kids, ‘Look to this guy. If you want to be someone good you can follow him on the things that he does.’”
Teammates schooled by the standard
Thiago Alcantara arrived at Anfield with Barcelona and Bayern Munich on his CV, a serial winner with a lifetime of elite football behind him. Yet even he found himself learning from the man on the right wing.
“I arrived in my nearly-30s there and I thought coming from Barcelona, from Bayern [Munich], I’ve learned a lot from very experienced players. Suddenly, a guy with a similar age of mine, you learn a lot,” Thiago admits.
“Not just on the pitch, because on the pitch you just try to complement the players. But the behaviour and the human that was behind the player. Amazing human being, amazing professional. Keeps you hungry as well all the time. One of the best teammates I ever had.”
Roberto Firmino, the third member of that iconic front three, talks about a man admired as much in the dressing room as on the terraces.
“He’s a good guy that everyone likes, that everyone admires a lot. And also playing football, a guy who inspires us a lot, of course. On the pitch, during his time at Liverpool he built the history and legacy he is leaving. And he has a beautiful heart. I’m grateful to God for having the privilege of playing alongside Mo Salah.”
Jordan Henderson, captain for so much of this journey, draws a line between talent and character – and puts Salah on the right side of both.
“He wanted to be the best player. He probably wanted to break all those records, but he wanted the win for the team as well, he wanted to win trophies, he wanted to help the team as much as he could,” Henderson says.
“There’s a difference between being the best player, and being the best player and the best human being – and I feel like Mo is both of those.”
Trent Alexander-Arnold, the local lad who watched Salah from the flank opposite him, saw the obsession up close.
“A relentless drive to be better and to be the best. And there wasn’t a day in training or anything where he didn’t want to be the best. Every single day he had a drive to keep getting better and better,” Trent says.
“He was never satisfied. Even with every record that he shattered, there was always something else he was chasing. Incredible.”
Klopp’s “all-time great”
Jürgen Klopp built a dynasty at Anfield with Salah as one of its central pillars. The manager’s verdict is as emphatic as his football.
“We will realise – I think we know already, we have a sense – we saw greatness. And that’s what he is. He’s an all-time great, he’s an incredible football player, he’s an incredible guy, he is an incredible ambassador for the whole Arabic world, in a difficult time we are living in,” Klopp says.
“You have this guy who shows like, yeah, here we go, we’re all the same, we’re all together, we love the same things, we fight for the same things, all these kinds of things. That’s what he shows. And, yeah, I couldn’t be prouder of him.”
From one elite forward to another, Daniel Sturridge recognises the mindset that separates the good from the great.
“One of the great attributes of attackers is to always feel like you want to help the team with numbers. I think that is what most attackers feel like but with the truly great ones it’s an obsession that you have to have,” he explains.
“I think he has that and had it in abundance. A really good teammate. All in all, I think he’s just somebody who achieved above expectations. I don’t think anybody ever thought he would be what he’s become, besides himself. It’s testament to his attitude, to his drive, to his will, to his dedication.”
Luis Diaz, one of the newer forwards to share the frontline with Salah, talks about a man who never stopped chasing trophies.
“He always wants to win titles and give his best for the club. So to share it with him, to see how happy he was, to see how much he was enjoying it, it was incredible,” Diaz says.
“Always wanting to be a better player, a better person. That leaves a profound mark on you and he left a profound mark on me.”
Respect from legends
When Liverpool’s great left-backs are discussed, Andy Robertson’s name will sit high on the list. He has had the best seat in the house for Salah’s peak years.
“Watching you become the best at what you do and become one of the best to ever have worn the Liverpool shirt has been a joy to watch and be part of,” Robertson says.
“Your mentality is second-to-none and a lot of people could take note. You have pushed yourself every single day and always demanded more from yourself and others. A pleasure sharing the pitch with you for so long but even more so being able to call you a friend. You deserve a send-off that reflects your status at LFC – the greatest. Second-to-none.”
Joe Gomez, another long-serving teammate, calls it simply.
“One of the greatest to ever wear the shirt. It’s been a pleasure having the countless hours watching your greatness first-hand in so many ways,” he says.
“Everyone knows about your mentality and work ethic – the numbers just cement your legacy forever. Thank you for everything you’ve done for us. I’ll always be grateful for our friendship over all these years.”
The praise doesn’t stop with the current squad. It stretches back through club royalty.
Robbie Fowler, once the benchmark for Liverpool goalscorers, knows what greatness looks like in front of the Kop.
“I think he’s been an astonishing player for Liverpool. His numbers, his games, his performances, his record have been outstanding. I think he’s been one of Liverpool’s greats in the Premier League. He’s also been one of the Premier League greats,” Fowler says.
“So not only will the Liverpool fans miss him, but I think fans of the Premier League will miss Mo Salah as well.”
Ian Rush, the club’s record scorer, highlights the intelligence behind the goals.
“Not just a goalscorer but the way he plays, he’s got a great football brain in there. When Mo’s going down that wing, he’s absolutely incredible. All Liverpool fans will love him and be sad to see him leave.”
James Milner, the consummate professional, points to Salah’s influence on standards.
“You need different types of leaders and Mo was a big leader. The standards he set every day – not only in training, in the gym, off the field – he led, for sure, by example,” Milner says.
“When you see someone doing so well on the pitch and seeing what they’re doing every day, and you have young players coming through and players signing, it’s like, ‘This is what it is to be a top player, this is what it is to be a Liverpool player.’”
And then there is Steven Gerrard. A man who knows what it means to be talked about among the game’s elite.
“When I was at my peak and I felt like I could play and compete against any individual or I felt I could influence games at the top level, I still felt there were a bunch of players that operated on a different level,” Gerrard says.
“So in my time that would have been Ronaldinho, for example, [Cristiano] Ronaldo, [Lionel] Messi, [Zinedine] Zidane, these bunch of players, Xavi and [Andres] Iniesta, where you felt as if they were just freaks when it came down to the level of football. Salah’s in that level, Salah is in that level. Don’t let anyone else tell you any different – he’s in that level.”
The coach’s eye and the apprentice’s lesson
Arne Slot has only just begun working with Salah, but it took him almost no time to understand why the numbers look the way they do.
“So many good players around the world [and] he’s definitely one of them in the last 10 years, that everybody talks about being one of the best there is and was in the last 10 years,” Slot says.
“To show that hunger every three days, that professionalism, that commitment to the club, to the team, to wanting to score again, always wanting to play – when you take him out three minutes before the end, he’s like, ‘Maybe I could have scored one extra!’ – that is what stands out for me.
“Everything he’s done for the club, but the moment I started working with him I knew it after one day, let alone after a few weeks or months, that it isn’t a coincidence that he’s been so influential in the last 10 years in football.”
For younger players, that intensity has been a blueprint. Milos Kerkez, one of the latest to share a dressing room with Salah, sounds almost stunned by what he witnessed.
“What really put him [apart] from everyone is how professional he is, it’s unbelievable. I don’t see that in any player,” he says.
“Doing all the gym stuff, eating healthy, how focused he is on doing everything [so] that he can perform his best on the pitch. That’s really unbelievable. That’s what I tried to learn from him in this year, also to pick it up. He is just unbelievable in that.”
Pepijn Lijnders, Klopp’s long-time assistant, strips it back to a single trait.
“I never met a guy – a player but also a human being – who is more committed to the life of being a professional football player.”
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain echoes that theme, framing it almost as something unreachable.
“I’ve never seen anyone do what Mo does – every hour of the day. To the point where I straight up look at him and think, ‘I don’t think I could do that and fair play, you deserve everything you do.’ It was obsession.”
For Harvey Elliott, Salah has been more than a teammate – a guide.
“[Salah] was giving me pointers like what I needed to do, how I needed to do things, the philosophy of how we play, and what the manager wants,” Elliott recalls.
“Even to this day, me and him have a really close connection now. And I’d say it’s more of a friendship than him just trying to help me out. But the way he’s handled me and put me on the path to somewhat get where I am today.”
From afar, another Anfield idol, Fernando Torres, simply calls him what he believes he is.
“For me, [he is a] top player and one of the best players in the last 10 years. I always say this, [he is] my favourite player [and] I put him among the best players in the world in the last 10 years.”
On Sunday, the Kop will sing his name and the cameras will linger on that familiar No.11 one last time in Liverpool red at Anfield. The tributes from teammates, legends and coaches all circle the same truth.
The club is not just saying goodbye to a goalscorer. It is saying farewell to a standard.
