Mohamed Salah: Anfield's Relentless Legend Bids Farewell
On Sunday, when Brentford walk out at Anfield, the noise will not just be for a game. It will be for an era. Mohamed Salah’s final appearance on Merseyside closes a nine-year spell that has re-drawn Liverpool’s history books and reshaped what greatness looks like in red.
Third on the club’s all-time scoring list with 257 goals, the No.11 has been the sharp edge of Liverpool’s modern renaissance – from Madrid in 2019 to two Premier League titles and a cabinet of medals that once felt out of reach. The numbers tell one story. The people who lived it with him tell another.
“Once-in-a-lifetime” from the heart of the defence
Virgil van Dijk has spent years watching Salah from the best – and worst – seat in the house: directly behind him.
“There are so many words that can be said about him. He’s been an incredible football player, so influential. Absolute special player. Once-in-a-lifetime player, in my opinion,” the captain says.
Van Dijk reels off the catalogue: the goals, the assists, the chemistry with Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino, the graft that underpinned the glamour.
“The hard work he puts in. He’s just incredible and [a] leader by example in the things that he does. An incredible player and someone that’s so important for the football club over all those years and a big part of the successes that we have.”
From the back line, the verdict is clear: Liverpool’s rise was built with Salah at the tip of the spear.
A standard-setter, on and off the pitch
Alisson Becker has watched Salah from another vantage point, guarding the goal while the Egyptian tore into opponents at the other end.
“I think he’s one of the most important players of the history of this club. He’s on the top with so many others,” the goalkeeper insists. Goals, assists, broken records – and something else.
“For time spent in the gym as well! Someone that works really hard, doesn’t rely only on his qualities but improves his qualities on the pitch, in the gym, at home, as everyone can see.”
Alisson’s admiration runs deeper than statistics.
“The commitment that he showed through all these years for being the best as he could. Yes, he has that desire for doing things for himself but on the benefit of others as well. I think Mo leaves here a legacy as well about standards. He’s someone that you can tell your kids, ‘Look to this guy. If you want to be someone good you can follow him on the things that he does.’”
James Milner, a byword for professionalism himself, echoes that theme.
“You need different types of leaders and Mo was a big leader. The standards he set every day – not only in training, in the gym, off the field – he led, for sure, by example,” Milner says.
“When you see someone doing so well on the pitch and seeing what they’re doing every day, and you have young players coming through and players signing, it’s like, ‘This is what it is to be a top player, this is what it is to be a Liverpool player.’”
Pepijn Lijnders strips it down to its essence.
“I never met a guy – a player but also a human being – who is more committed to the life of being a professional football player.”
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain goes even further.
“I’ve never seen anyone do what Mo does – every hour of the day. To the point where I straight up look at him and think, ‘I don’t think I could do that and fair play, you deserve everything you do.’ It was obsession.”
Teammates driven – and humbled – by his hunger
Thiago Alcantara arrived with a medal collection from Barcelona and Bayern Munich. Yet Salah still surprised him.
“I arrived in my nearly-30s there and I thought coming from Barcelona, from Bayern [Munich], I’ve learned a lot from very experienced players. Suddenly, a guy with a similar age of mine, you learn a lot,” Thiago admits.
“Not just on the pitch… But the behaviour and the human that was behind the player. Amazing human being, amazing professional. Keeps you hungry as well all the time. One of the best teammates I ever had.”
Trent Alexander-Arnold grew up alongside Salah’s prime, his own career shaped in that slipstream.
“A relentless drive to be better and to be the best. And there wasn’t a day in training or anything where he didn’t want to be the best,” Trent recalls.
“Every single day he had a drive to keep getting better and better. He was never satisfied. Even with every record that he shattered, there was always something else he was chasing. Incredible.”
Luis Diaz, a more recent arrival, felt the same force.
“He always wants to win titles and give his best for the club. So to share it with him, to see how happy he was, to see how much he was enjoying it, it was incredible,” the Colombian says.
“Always wanting to be a better player, a better person. That leaves a profound mark on you and he left a profound mark on me.”
Milos Kerkez, looking on with fresh eyes, was stunned by the totality of Salah’s commitment.
“What really put him [apart] from everyone is how professional he is, it’s unbelievable. I don’t see that in any player. Doing all the gym stuff, eating healthy, how focused he is on doing everything [so] that he can perform his best on the pitch. That’s really unbelievable. That’s what I tried to learn from him in this year, also to pick it up. He is just unbelievable in that.”
Leadership, legacy and the human behind the numbers
Jordan Henderson, who lifted trophies with Salah, draws a line between talent and character.
“He wanted to be the best player. He probably wanted to break all those records, but he wanted the win for the team as well, he wanted to win trophies, he wanted to help the team as much as he could,” the former captain explains.
“There’s a difference between being the best player, and being the best player and the best human being – and I feel like Mo is both of those.”
Joe Gomez, who has watched the forward from close quarters for years, sees a legacy carved in stone.
“One of the greatest to ever wear the shirt. It’s been a pleasure having the countless hours watching your greatness first-hand in so many ways,” the defender says.
“Everyone knows about your mentality and work ethic – the numbers just cement your legacy forever. Thank you for everything you’ve done for us. I’ll always be grateful for our friendship over all these years.”
Roberto Firmino, Salah’s partner in one of the Premier League’s most feared front threes, focuses on the person as much as the player.
“He’s a good guy that everyone likes, that everyone admires a lot. And also playing football, a guy who inspires us a lot, of course,” Firmino says.
“On the pitch, during his time at Liverpool he built the history and legacy he is leaving. And he has a beautiful heart. I’m grateful to God for having the privilege of playing alongside Mo Salah.”
Harvey Elliott, once the kid looking up, now a first-team regular, remembers the guidance.
“[Salah] was giving me pointers like what I needed to do, how I needed to do things, the philosophy of how we play, and what the manager wants,” Elliott explains.
“Even to this day, me and him have a really close connection now. And I’d say it’s more of a friendship than him just trying to help me out. But the way he’s handled me and put me on the path to somewhat get where I am today.”
Andy Robertson, who has sprinted up that left flank in tandem with Salah for years, frames it as a privilege.
“Watching you become the best at what you do and become one of the best to ever have worn the Liverpool shirt has been a joy to watch and be part of,” the Scot says.
“Your mentality is second-to-none and a lot of people could take note. You have pushed yourself every single day and always demanded more from yourself and others. A pleasure sharing the pitch with you for so long but even more so being able to call you a friend. You deserve a send-off that reflects your status at LFC – the greatest. Second-to-none.”
Klopp and the greats: placing Salah among football’s elite
Jürgen Klopp has been the architect on the touchline while Salah tore through defences. He knows exactly what Liverpool have had.
“We will realise – I think we know already, we have a sense – we saw greatness. And that’s what he is,” the manager says.
“He’s an all-time great, he’s an incredible football player, he’s an incredible guy, he is an incredible ambassador for the whole Arabic world, in a difficult time we are living in.”
Klopp goes beyond football.
“You have this guy who shows like, yeah, here we go, we’re all the same, we’re all together, we love the same things, we fight for the same things, all these kinds of things. That’s what he shows. And, yeah, I couldn’t be prouder of him.”
Steven Gerrard, who knows what it is to carry the weight of a club, places Salah in the rarest company.
“When I was at my peak and I felt like I could play and compete against any individual or I felt I could influence games at the top level, I still felt there were a bunch of players that operated on a different level,” Gerrard reflects.
“In my time that would have been Ronaldinho, for example, [Cristiano] Ronaldo, [Lionel] Messi, [Zinedine] Zidane, these bunch of players, Xavi and [Andres] Iniesta, where you felt as if they were just freaks when it came down to the level of football. Salah’s in that level, Salah is in that level. Don’t let anyone else tell you any different – he’s in that level.”
Fernando Torres, another Anfield idol, is just as emphatic.
“For me, [he is a] top player and one of the best players in the last 10 years. I always say this, [he is] my favourite player [and] I put him among the best players in the world in the last 10 years.”
From the club’s greatest goalscorers, the praise carries a different weight. Robbie Fowler calls him “astonishing”.
“His numbers, his games, his performances, his record have been outstanding. I think he’s been one of Liverpool’s greats in the Premier League. He’s also been one of the Premier League greats,” Fowler says.
“So not only will the Liverpool fans miss him, but I think fans of the Premier League will miss Mo Salah as well.”
Ian Rush, another giant of the Anfield pantheon, zeros in on Salah’s intelligence.
“Not just a goalscorer but the way he plays, he’s got a great football brain in there. When Mo’s going down that wing, he’s absolutely incredible. All Liverpool fans will love him and be sad to see him leave.”
Daniel Sturridge, who shared a dressing room with Salah, highlights the obsession that powered all of this.
“One of the great attributes of attackers is to always feel like you want to help the team with numbers,” he says.
“I think that is what most attackers feel like but with the truly great ones it’s an obsession that you have to have. I think he has that and had it in abundance. A really good teammate. All in all, I think he’s just somebody who achieved above expectations. I don’t think anybody ever thought he would be what he’s become, besides himself. It’s testament to his attitude, to his drive, to his will, to his dedication.”
A new manager, the same awe
Arne Slot has only just begun working with Salah, yet he needed almost no time to understand what everyone else has been saying for years.
“So many good players around the world [and] he’s definitely one of them in the last 10 years, that everybody talks about being one of the best there is and was in the last 10 years,” Slot says.
“To show that hunger every three days, that professionalism, that commitment to the club, to the team, to wanting to score again, always wanting to play – when you take him out three minutes before the end, he’s like, ‘Maybe I could have scored one extra!’ – that is what stands out for me.”
The Dutchman knew within a day what a decade of opponents have discovered the hard way.
“Everything he’s done for the club, but the moment I started working with him I knew it after one day, let alone after a few weeks or months, that it isn’t a coincidence that he’s been so influential in the last 10 years in football.”
The final walk
As Anfield prepares to say farewell, the tributes form a mosaic: the relentless worker, the ruthless finisher, the mentor, the global symbol, the good friend with a “beautiful heart”.
Alisson talks about telling his kids to follow Salah’s example. Gerrard ranks him with the game’s freakish elite. Klopp calls him an all-time great and an ambassador in a fractured world.
On Sunday, Salah will pull on the Liverpool shirt one last time at home, No.11 on his back, the Kop in full voice. The goals are already written into history. The legacy, clearly, runs much deeper.
The question now is not what he has done for Liverpool – that story is carved into the club’s modern identity – but how long it will be before Anfield sees his like again.
