Mohamed Salah has had an unbelievable year. At the start of the season, He probably couldn’t have imagined how good a season he was about to have.
The €42 million price tag that followed him to Liverpool made many Liverpool fans unsure, as the Egyptian had been a flop at Chelsea a few seasons earlier. He has paid that tag back easily, scoring 44 goals in all competitions so far. He still has the Champions league final against Real Madrid, where he would need a hat trick to match Ian Rushes record of 47 goals in a single season.
That seems unlikely to happen, but never say never. If you were to tell Liverpool fans that Chelsea flop Mo Salah would come to Liverpool and score more goals in one Premier league season than Luis Suarez, they would have called you crazy. No one can really believe what he has done this season.
Every Liverpool fan loves this man. The newly nicknamed ‘Egyptian King’ has taken Anfield by storm over the last 9 months or so. His pace and quick turns have mesmerized defenders in Europe and the league this season. However, his magic on the field isn’t the only thing that makes him a phenomenon.
Earlier in the year, Salah starred in an Egyptian advert to campaign against drugs which was viewed over 8 million times over Facebook, Instagram and Twitter as well as being liked by 359,000 users of the platform. The drugs rehabilitation hotline witnessed a staggering 400% increase in calls after the campaign was fully endorsed by the Liverpool player.
He has become a global superstar this season, and his influence on games has become huge. He is in the running for the Ballon D’or this season, and has the best chance in years to take it away from Messi or Ronaldo.
If he wins the Champions league with Liverpool then goes on to perform well in the World Cup in June, then he has an excellent chance.
The amount of records Salah has broken this season is staggering. He is the first Liverpool player to score 10 or more goals in a single champions league campaign, first premier league player to score over 40 goals in a single season and has scored the most goals in his debut season than any other Liverpool player. His most impressive record is one he broke yesterday. His 32 goals in 38 premier league games has beaten the record of Luis Suarez and Alan Shearer on 31 goals. It is obvious Anfields new favourite and the Premier leagues player of the year has taken the premiership by storm.
He still has the Champions league final coming up on the 25th of May, this will define his season. All those individual accolades will be tarnished if he doesnt win the Champions league.
Whats next for Mohamed Salah? Can he continue this run of form into the world cup and next season? Or will it be a once off like Leicester City winning the league a few years ago? Only time will tell.
John McAuliffe