Mohamed Salah's career: from left-back to one of the best strikers in the world

Salah grew up in a small farming village north of Cairo called Gharbia. Mohamed's father and uncle were football players for the local club, hence his love for the sport. At the age of 14, he excelled in a small league organised by Pepsi. A scout from Mokawloon Al-Arab invited him to Cairo to join the youth academy. There he began his career playing as a left back! But one day, his coach decided to change his position to make better use of his speed, and the Egyptian ended up scoring 35 goals as a striker . In 2010 he made his professional debut

In 2012, at just 20 years old, he was bought by Swiss club Basel for 2.5 million euros, where he won the league in that country and was selected as the best African player of the year. In 2014, Chelsea set their sights on him and paid 16.5 million euros . After not having much of a place in José Mourinho 's team , he went on loan to Italy: first to Fiorentina and then to Roma , where he shone so much for his speed and goalscoring ability that in mid-2016 they made the purchase option for 16 million. In the 16/17 season, his team was runners-up in Serie A and he scored 15 goals and provided 11 assists. That's when Liverpool appeared, paying 42 million euros and taking him back to the Premier League , where he made a splash and became one of the best in the world. During his career he won two Swiss Super Leagues, a Premier League, a Champions League, a European Super Cup and a Club World Cup .

Klopp and a special comparison between Salah and Diego Maradona

Jürgen Klopp, his manager at Liverpool, has praised him so much that he once compared him to Diego Maradona: "The last player who had such an influence on a team's performance was Maradona. He is on his way to becoming the best in the world ," he said in 2018. That same year, he won the Puskas Award for a goal against Everton.

From victim to hero: The story of Mohamed Salah and the Champions League

Mohamed Salah was the star of the Champions League final twice in a row . In the 2018 edition, against Real Madrid, the Egyptian had to be replaced in the first half due to an injury to his right shoulder following a foul by Sergio Ramos . The Merengue then won 3-1.

A year later, against Tottenham, his role was on the other side of the coin. He was not a victim, but a hero, as he opened the scoring after two minutes for Jürgen Klopp's men and his team ended up winning the title 2-0. Football always gives us revenge.

The most curious facts from Salah's life: he came second in the presidential elections, he is a subject in Egypt and an ant is named after him

In March 2018, in Egypt’s presidential election, Mo Salah came second! Did he run for president? No, but his fans, having been a hero in qualifying for the World Cup in Russia, put his name on the ballot . In total, he received more than a million votes and came second in the election with 5% , condemning Mustafa Moussa, the opposition candidate to an ignominious 3%. Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi was re-elected with 92% of the vote.

Among other curiosities, Salah even has an ant named after him . What? Yes, because in 2019 a new species of ant was discovered in the Arabian Peninsula and officially registered as "Meranoplus mosalahi" in honor of the Egyptian footballer . The discovery was made by Egyptian taxonomist Mostafa Sharaf, who at the time stated: "I have little interest in football. What caught my attention is the fame and success of Mohamed Salah. Naming newly discovered species after famous people is a fine way to honor them . "

The Egyptian is a symbol for his country and even a case study in schools, but literally: Egypt included his sporting career in the school curriculum! The news broke in October 2021 and it seems that there are no limits to what he means to Egyptians.

Salah is also a star off the pitch

Mohamed Salah is much more than a football player . He is an idol for Egyptians, a reference for Muslims around the world, a voice of hope for many children, especially refugees. Among his various actions to make the world more equal, he participated in the first virtual UN General Assembly after the outbreak of Covid-19 , where he called for all young people to have access to quality, online education.

On the other hand, perhaps unintentionally, it managed to reduce Islamophobic crimes in the Merseyside area by 18.9 percent in two years and there was also a 53 percent drop in anti-Muslim tweets among Liverpool fans out of a sample of approximately 15 million messages, according to a study by Stanford University in the United States.

The keys to Salah's incredible physical transformation

The Egyptian recently revealed the secret of the great transformation he had in his physical condition that led him to reach the level he has today. In addition to carrying out the necessary training and complying with the diet imposed on him at Liverpool, the striker incorporated different disciplines that are complementary to what he does at the club. "Nutrition is very important, it is part of the game. It has helped me with my recovery, it has allowed me to sleep better and it helped my body adapt quickly ," Salah said in an interview with CNN.

"My nutritionist says that since I have no fat on my body, I can eat whatever I want. I don't drink either, so it's fine ," added the Reds player, who in his daily life follows an orderly menu in order to be at his best. Although he takes great care of himself, when he can he does indulge in certain things . One of them is pizza, which is his favourite food , and the other is a special dish from Egypt called Kushari , which is made of rice, macaroni and lentils and topped with tomatoes, chickpeas and spiced onions. "When I go back to Egypt, I call my friend at the airport to buy kushari so we can eat in the car. I put on my hoodie, get in the car and eat it straight away ," he had said on another occasion.

In addition to his strict diet, the striker also devotes a lot of time to training differently . According to the British newspaper The Sun , the player likes to get up early and do weight training or bodyweight training . He also adds yoga sessions, swimming and stretching exercises . On the other hand, and based on his Muslim religion, Mohamed also goes through Radaman , a 30-day period in which one fasts and does not do any other activities from sunrise to sunset.