Mohamed Salah’s incredible feats have given Liverpool supporters a new generational goalscorer who can sit alongside other greats…
SIT DOWN next to me.
Tell me about your Roger Hunts. Your St. Johns, Kennys and Rushies. Patronise me slightly about Robbie Fowler and Fernando Torres. They’re good, sure. But they’re not in the same league.
In 2026, we get to have Mohamed Salah. We have him for our mates, children and grandchildren. You can have him for internet debate and to argue pointlessly with trolls if you want. I’ll pass.
I’ve preached repeatedly about how football bookmarks life; be it games, players or seasons. They offer a pin in the map of an otherwise shortening but generally monotonous existence.
Football can tell you what you were doing on 12 March 2006 (I was at Highbury watching Arsenal beat Liverpool). From 2017 to 2026 – our lives will in many ways be defined by Salah and by 255 goals and 119 assists to date.
Nostalgia is what offers the glint in the eye of our elders. Not just that they watched great players, but that Rush, Dalglish et al reminded them of their once boundless energy and effervescence. Of a simpler time when life had fewer rigors.
Thinking about the player Liverpool signed, what jumps out is what we didn’t see. A left-footed attacker who can go inside or out with terrifying pace is always something to savour. But Liverpool got so much more for their £36.9m.
Salah was an elite finisher with an even better mentality. He stepped into Liverpool every inch the winner – someone like Luis Suarez was. He just controlled and channelled it better.
Watching a team catapult to the next level is a phenomenal thing. You see the jigsaw pieces fall into place. Including the ones you thought never would. The ones which fell down the side of the couch when you opened the box.
Virgil van Dijk, Alisson Becker and Mohamed Salah were those final pieces. The elite centre-back, the complete goalkeeper and the goalscoring phenomenon.
But here’s the thing to remember about Salah: he wasn’t a centre-forward. He’s positionally more comparable to Steve Heighway and Steve McManaman than Dalglish and Rush.
Salah has moulded and adapted himself and his identity in front of our eyes for years now. He has learnt the art of displacing defenders without blistering pace. He quietly added assists to his game and found a way to enjoy them almost as much as goals.
In every way, who and what he is off the pitch is more important to Liverpool.
In an era where the far-right can rock up at St. Georges Hall and receive support from elements of the Liverpool public, remembering who and what Salah is and was to the city is critical.
There’s a story from 2015 that I reference in the book about two Muslim Liverpool supporters who were praying inside Anfield during an FA Cup game with Blackburn.
Another supporter had taken a photo and tweeted it, branding their actions a ‘disgrace’. Such a statement is just as likely to come from certain politicians in the modern day, so it’s a stretch to say that Salah’s influence eroded such societal ignorance anywhere.
Yet the power of his personality, which includes his faith and culture, is undeniable. Salah performs the same prayers after every goal and has been adored in doing so on every occasion. He has been forthright about how he uses his body, how he thinks women should be treated, about celebrating Christmas.
In a world where difference increasingly equals threat, Salah has been a gift to everyone who affiliates themselves with this football club.
And now, immortalisation. Up there with the greatest. Held as ‘ours’ no matter where his future lies. Additionally, we get to be home for him. Two daughters with Scouse accents. A reminder of the place that accepted him. That willed him to realise his elite potential. A gift.
How this plays out from now to this summer is uncertain.
The news arguably defines Liverpool’s season now, regardless of whether the club gets top five or even wins a trophy. Along with being in the shadow of Diogo Jota’s tragic passing, 2025-26 will be remembered for Salah’s ending.
It could galvanise Liverpool. It could be the welcome sideshow to an otherwise deflating end to the campaign. Either way, it’s a seismic shift in Liverpool’s continuous quest for identity after a decade of mostly still waters.
No matter what, Salah gave a generation their goalscoring hero. He gets to be ours for all time.
Those who feel the breath of sadness, sit down next to me. Let me tell you about Mohamed Salah.
