Mohamed Salah Hamed Mahrous Ghaly (Arabic: محمد صلاح حامد محروس غالي, Egyptian Arabic pronunciation: [mæˈħam.mæd sˤɑˈlɑːħ ˈɣæːli]; born 15 June 1992) is an Egyptian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Liverpool and captains the Egypt national team. Considered one of the best players in the world and amongst the greatest African players of all time, he is known for his finishing, dribbling, and speed.
Salah started his senior career in 2010 playing for Al Mokawloon, departing in 2012 to join Basel, where he won two Swiss Super League titles. In 2014, Salah joined Chelsea for a reported fee of £11 million, but limited gametime led to successive loans to Fiorentina and Roma, who later signed him permanently for €15 million. In the 2016–17 season, Salah was a key figure in Roma's title race against ultimate league winners Juventus, reaching double figures in both goals and assists.
2021–22: Third Golden Boot and Playmaker of the Season
Salah opened the 2021–22 season with a goal and two assists in a 3–0 win at Norwich. In scoring Salah became the first player to score in the opening game of five consecutive Premier League seasons. On 12 September, Salah scored his 100th Premier League goal in the 3–0 win away to Leeds United. On 25 September, Salah scored his 100th Premier League goal for Liverpool in a 3–3 draw away to Brentford. Reaching 100 top-flight goals in fewer games than any player in Liverpool history, he achieved the milestone in 151 games, one game fewer than Roger Hunt who reached a century of goals in 152 games. The goal also moved Salah into Liverpool's top 10 all-time scorers list.
On 19 October, Salah became the first player in Liverpool history to score in nine consecutive games with two goals in a 3–2 win away to Atlético Madrid in the UEFA Champions League. His second goal, his 31st in the Champions League, saw him become Liverpool's record goalscorer in the competition, surpassing the 30 goals scored by Steven Gerrard. In his next game on 24 October Salah continued breaking records with a hat-trick against Liverpool's arch rivals Manchester United in a 5–0 victory at Old Trafford. In scoring three goals Salah became the highest scoring African player in Premier League history (surpassing the 104 goals scored by Didier Drogba), and the first Liverpool player to score in ten consecutive games as well as the first Liverpool player to score at Old Trafford three games in a row. He also became the first opposition player to score a hat-trick at Old Trafford since Ronaldo in 2003, and the first to do so in Premier League history. On 1 December, Salah scored twice in a 4–1 away win against Everton in the Premier League as Liverpool became the first team in English top-flight history to score at least two goals in 18 successive games in all competitions.
On 7 December, Salah scored Liverpool's opening goal in a 2–1 away win against A.C. Milan at the San Siro as Liverpool became the first English club to win all six Champions League group games in the competition's history. The goal was Salah's 20th of the season and he became the first Liverpool player since Ian Rush to score 20 goals in five successive seasons. On 16 December, Salah scored Liverpool's second goal in a 3–1 home win against Newcastle United, the 15th consecutive Premier League game he either scored or made an assist, in what was Liverpool's 2000th top-flight win.
On 19 February 2022, Salah became the 10th player to score 150 goals in all competitions for the club, and the second fastest (232 matches) after Roger Hunt (226), when he scored the second goal in a 3–1 Premier League win over Norwich at Anfield.
On 19 April 2022, Salah became the first Premier League Player to score 5 goals against Manchester United in a single season after scoring a brace in a 4–0 win at Anfield. In 29 April 2022, Salah was named England’s Men’s Footballer of the Year for the second time since 2018.
On 22 May 2022, Salah was awarded his third Golden Boot award at the end of the Premier League 2021–22 season, sharing the award with Son Heung-min after both players scored 23 goals. Salah also won the Playmaker of the Season award after collecting 13 assists.
