Liverpool were always I used to be Stevie G
MATCHES ON COMPUTER GAME MADE ANFIELD THE NO.1
HE is the scoring sensation who has taken the game by storm and made himself an Anfield legend in just five months.
Mohamed Salah’s journey from teenager in the Egyptian Premier League to leading scorer in the more famous English version has taken seven years.
That journey included a failed stint at Chelsea and a couple of loan spells in Italy.
But now, having finally found his feet in Jurgen Klopp’s all-out attack at Liverpool, and having led his country into next summer’s World Cup finals, Salah has revealed he was dreaming about being a Reds legend long before the German signed him.
Salah says he used to play as Liverpool – and in particular Steven Gerrard – on FIFA on his Playstation at home in Egypt when he was just starting to make a name for himself with Cairo club Arab Contractors.
Without realising it, Salah developed an affinity with the Reds, which he says was a factor when he decided to move to Anfield from Roma for a club record £36.9million in June.
The 25-year-old said: “Why were Liverpool the right club for me? Because of many things.
“I even used to play as Liverpool on the Playstation on FIFA when I was 18 or 19, as Steven Gerrard, Sami Hyypia, Jamie Carragher, Michael Owen and Xabi Alonso.
“I also remembered that atmosphere when I first played here with Chelsea and it came into my mind.”
He had the chance to join Liverpool from Basel in January 2014, only to turn them down and sign for Chelsea.
Aged 21 and still establishing himself, he failed to make an impact at Stamford Bridge and says he might also have struggled at Liverpool, who at the time had Luis Suarez, Daniel Sturridge, Philippe Coutinho and Raheem Sterling in attack.
His two-and-a-half years in Italy with Fiorentina and Roma helped mould him and he arrived at Anfield as the finished article.
“There was interest from Liverpool when I went to Chelsea, but I think if I’d come at that time maybe things wouldn’t have gone as well then as they have for me now,” he said.
“Who knows? But I went to Chelsea and everything worked out how it did and now I am here at Liverpool at the right time.”
Salah has matured greatly from the wide-eyed 20-year-old who left his homeland to come to Europe and sign for Basel in 2012.
He did not speak English, whereas now he can even make out the thick Scouse accent – although not teammate Jon Flanagan’s.
“I understand Scouse – I think!” he told Liverpool’s official website, liverpoolfc.com. “But it’s very difficult, very difficult.
“The accent is so hard to understand. Flano’s accent is the worst one. I can’t understand anything from him. The way he is talking is like he’s not talking normally.” Salah has become an instant hero for fans because of his phenomenal return of 20 goals and four assists in just 26 games.
He is the Premier League’s top scorer with 14 goals and said: “I’m happy when the fans sing my name.
“I can hear them on the pitch and it makes me happy. It makes you go, ‘Wow!’.”
“I have to thank the fans very much for singing my name. Really, I respect it a lot. It’s a big thing for me to have only been here for a few months and to have the fans singing my name