Golden boot star Mo Salah
SO far the Liverpool striker Mo Salah has won the coveted ‘Golden Boot’ twice. This is awarded to the top goalscorer in the Premiership… and right now he is on course to make it a treble!
The Anfield striker netted 32 out of Liverpool’s 84 goals in 2017-18 and followed up with 22 out of 89 in 2018-19.
Born Mohamed Salah Hamed Mahrous Ghaly in Nagrig, Egypt on June 15, 1992, he is now considered one of the best strikers in world football, universally known for his finishing, dribbling, awareness, speed, positional play and commitment.
After six seasons playing for three of his country’s junior teams - Ittihad Basyoun, Othmason Tanta and Al Kokawkoon - Salah joined FC Basel in Switzerland in April 2012.
After helping the Swiss club win two Super League titles he switched his allegiance to Chelsea, and signed in January 2014 for £11m. But limited game-time (2 goals scored in only 19 outings) led to loan spells with Italian clubs, Fiorentina and AS Roma, eventually joining the latter club for €15m in August 2016.
In June 2017, Salah moved to Liverpool for £36.9m (rising to £43m) - making him the most expensive Egyptian player of alltime. He was also a record signing by Liverpool.
Salah had already gained international honours, having represented Egypt at youth, U20, U23 and senior levels, winning his first full cap in 2011. Then, following his performances at the 2012 Summer Olympics, he was named CAF Most Promising Talent of the Year, and after that finished runner-up in the 2017 African Cup of Nations and was top-scorer for Egypt during the CAF qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup.
He scored goals aplenty in 2017-18, and his total of 44 in 52 appearances helped Liverpool reach the Champions League final and finish fourth in the Premiership. And besides winning the Golden Boot, he was included in the Premiership Team of the Year, voted the PFA ‘Player of the Year’, FWA ‘Footballer of the Year’, CAF African Footballer of the Year (for a second time) and BBC African Footballer of the Year.
Salah quickly became an Anfield icon, and in July 2018 signed a new long-term contract with Liverpool, his manager Jürgen Klopp saying that the news was important as a statement of intent, in terms of Liverpool's status in the football world in having Salah commit himself further to the club.
In 2018-19 he helped Liverpool finish second in the Premiership and also win the Champions League, scoring the first goal (a penalty after just two minutes) in a 2-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur.
In fact, the early effort was the second fastest goal ever scored in a final of this competition – behind Paolo Maldini's strike for AC Milan against Liverpool in the 2005 final.
After another terrific season, in September 2019 Salah was nominated for the FIFA/FIFPro World11 award by worldwide players’ union, FIFPro, and FIFA as one amongst 55 players.
So far this season, despite having a mini-break away from the Premiership when Egypt participated in the African Cup of Nations, Salah is already top of the list regarding players (strikers) chasing the Golden Boot prize.
For the record, as at the February 24, 2022, Salah had scored a grand total of 280 goals in 588 first-class matches which includes 152 in 234 appearances for Liverpool and 54 in 104 senior/ intermediate internationals for Egypt. And there’s a long way to go yet before he ends his netbusting achievements.
NB: Salah’s daughter is named after Mecca, the holy Arabian city in Saudi Arabia.