Mohamed Salah: A Liverpool Legend's Legacy
On Sunday at Anfield, the curtain comes down on one of the great modern Liverpool careers. Brentford are the opponents, but the afternoon belongs to Mohamed Salah – the No.11 whose nine-year stay on Merseyside has rewritten the club’s record books and reshaped its identity.
Third on Liverpool’s all-time scoring list with 257 goals. A Champions League winner. Twice a Premier League champion. The spearhead of an era that dragged the club back to the summit of Europe and England, and kept it there.
Those who shared the dressing room with him know better than anyone what is walking away.
A once‑in‑a‑generation force
Virgil van Dijk has spent years watching Salah from the best – and worst – vantage point: up close in training, and a few yards behind him on matchdays as the Egyptian tore into defences.
“There are so many words that can be said about him,” the captain reflects. “He’s been an incredible football player, so influential. Absolute special player. Once-in-a-lifetime player, in my opinion.
“The amount of goals he scored, the assists, the combination together with Sadio [Mane] and Bobby [Firmino], 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.”
Alisson Becker, another who saw Salah’s standards every day, puts him where the numbers say he belongs – among the giants of Anfield.
“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. 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. And then as a person, I think the commitment that he showed through all these years for being the best as he could.
“Yes, he has that desire for doing things for himself but on the benefit of others as well. 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.’”
Thiago Alcantara arrived as a serial winner from Barcelona and Bayern Munich, yet still found himself learning from the man on Liverpool’s right flank.
“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.
“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 Brazilian who formed one third of that devastating front line, points to the person as much as the player.
“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.”
For former captain Jordan Henderson, the distinction is clear – and rare.
“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.
“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.”
The obsession with better
Those who watched Salah every day speak about the same thing: a relentless, almost uncomfortable drive.
Trent Alexander-Arnold saw it from his breakthrough as a teenager.
“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.
“He was never satisfied. Even with every record that he shattered, there was always something else he was chasing. Incredible.”
Jürgen Klopp, the manager who unlocked Salah’s peak years, knows Anfield has witnessed something it may not see again.
“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.
“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.”
Daniel Sturridge, himself a ruthless forward in his prime, recognised the mentality that separates very good from truly 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. 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, who joined a team already built in Salah’s image, felt the impact quickly.
“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.
“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.”
Andy Robertson, the Scot who sprinted up that left flank while Salah terrorised the right, has watched the climb from star signing to club icon.
“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. 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, one of the longest-serving figures in the current squad, has simply been a witness to history.
“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.
“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.”
Among the club’s immortals
When the old goalscoring royalty speak, their words carry weight. Robbie Fowler and Ian Rush know exactly what it takes to sit at the top table at Anfield.
“I think he’s been an astonishing player for Liverpool,” Fowler says. “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. So not only will the Liverpool fans miss him, but I think fans of the Premier League will miss Mo Salah as well.”
Rush highlights not just the finishing, but the football brain that underpinned it.
“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, a standard-setter in his own right, watched Salah redefine what “professional” meant inside the building.
“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.
“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.’”
Steven Gerrard, the man many still see as the symbol of Liverpool’s modern era, places Salah in a bracket reserved for the true freaks of the game.
“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.
“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 professional’s professional
Arne Slot, working with Salah at the end of his Liverpool story, quickly understood why the numbers look like 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.
“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.”
Full-back Milos Kerkez has been taken aback by the level behind the scenes.
“What really put him [apart] from everyone is how professional he is, it’s unbelievable. I don’t see that in any player.
“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, boils it down 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 saw the same thing and knew he could never quite match it.
“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, still at the start of his own journey, Salah was guide as much as teammate.
“[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.
“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.”
Fernando Torres, another idol of the Kop, doesn’t hesitate when asked where Salah ranks.
“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, Anfield will rise for a final time for the No.11 who arrived as a talented winger and leaves as a phenomenon. The goals will live in the archives. The medals will stay in the cabinet. The standards he set, and the stories his teammates tell, will echo far longer.
The question now is not what Mohamed Salah has done for Liverpool. It is how the club will ever replace a player – and a presence – like that.
