Mohamed Salah's Legacy at Liverpool: A Farewell to Greatness

Anfield’s long goodbye to Mohamed Salah comes on Sunday, when Brentford arrive and one of the greatest careers in Liverpool history reaches its final act on Merseyside.

Nine years. Two Premier League titles. A Champions League crown that blew the doors open in 2019. And 257 goals – a number that places him third on the club’s all-time scoring list and barely begins to explain his impact.

Salah hasn’t just been Liverpool’s right-winger. He has been the reference point. The standard. The obsession.

Those who shared the dressing room with him know it best.

‘Once-in-a-lifetime’

Virgil van Dijk has spent years watching Salah from the best – and sometimes worst – vantage point: a few yards 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.

“The amount of goals he scored, the assists, the combination together with Sadio [Mane] and Bobby [Firmino], 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.”

Van Dijk saw the numbers. He also saw the grind. So did the man behind them both.

Alisson Becker, who has watched Salah decide games from 90 yards away, places him at the very summit of Liverpool history.

“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 says. “His achievements, his records broken, for goals, for assists, for so many things. 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. And then as a person, I think 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.’”

Standards. Obsession. Legacy. The themes repeat, from every corner of the squad.

The professional

Thiago Alcantara arrived from Barcelona and Bayern Munich, a serial winner stepping into another elite environment. He expected to teach. Instead, he found himself learning.

“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, because on the pitch you just try to complement the players. 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.”

Roberto Firmino, the third point of that devastating front three, talks about the same mix of warmth and ruthlessness.

“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.”

Jordan Henderson, who lifted trophy after trophy with Salah at his side, frames it in the simplest terms: the will to win, for himself and for everyone around him.

“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 says.

“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.”

Trent Alexander-Arnold grew up watching idols at Anfield. Then he watched Salah redefine what “elite” looked like, day after day.

“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 says. “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.”

Klopp’s all-time great

Jürgen Klopp built his Liverpool around Salah. Goals, yes, but also what he represented in a wider world.

“We will realise – I think we know already, we have a sense – we saw greatness. And that’s what he is,” Klopp reflects. “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.

“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.”

Daniel Sturridge, who knows the psychology of the goalscorer as well as anyone, sees that burning need to deliver for the team in the numbers Salah has stacked up.

“One of the great attributes of attackers is to always feel like you want to help the team with numbers. I think that is what most attackers feel like but with the truly great ones it’s an obsession that you have to have,” Sturridge says.

“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.”

Luis Diaz felt that hunger from close quarters.

“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,” Diaz 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.”

Andy Robertson, who has overlapped and underlapped alongside Salah for years, watched a phenomenon up close.

“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 left-back 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.”

Joe Gomez echoes that sense of privilege.

“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,” he 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.”

Among the giants

When the club’s legendary forwards speak, their words carry a certain weight. Robbie Fowler and Ian Rush know what it means to live off goals at Anfield – and what it takes to be remembered.

“I think he’s been an astonishing player for Liverpool. His numbers, his games, his performances, his record have been outstanding,” Fowler says. “I think he’s been one of Liverpool’s greats in the Premier League. He’s also been one of the Premier League greats. So not only will the Liverpool fans miss him, but I think fans of the Premier League will miss Mo Salah as well.”

Rush focuses on the intelligence behind the explosiveness.

“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.”

James Milner, the benchmark professional of his generation, points to leadership that didn’t always need a team talk.

“You need different types of leaders and Mo was a big leader,” Milner says. “The standards he set every day – not only in training, in the gym, off the field – he led, for sure, by example.

“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.’”

Then there is Steven Gerrard, who spent his prime competing with the game’s true outliers and knows exactly what that level looks like.

“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 explains.

“So 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.”

Obsession and example

Arne Slot, who has only recently begun working with Salah, needed barely a day to understand what had driven this decade of dominance.

“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,” the head coach 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.

“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.”

Milos Kerkez, seeing Salah from the perspective of a younger professional, focuses on the details that most supporters never see.

“What really put him [apart] from everyone is how professional he is, it’s unbelievable. I don’t see that in any player,” he says. “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.”

Pepijn Lijnders, Klopp’s long-time assistant, strips it down to a single trait.

“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 paints the same picture, only with the awe of someone who tried to match it and realised how high the bar really was.

“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.”

Harvey Elliott has lived the other side of that: the young player being pulled along by Salah’s standards and 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 recalls.

“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.”

Fernando Torres, another Anfield icon in his own right, doesn’t hide his admiration.

“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.”

On Sunday, Anfield will rise for Mohamed Salah one last time in Liverpool red. The goals are already written into history. The medals are locked in the cabinet.

What remains is the sound, the emotion, the farewell to a player his peers place among the game’s true greats – and a standard future generations at this club will be chasing for a very long time.