Mohamed Salah Hamed Mahrous Ghaly (Arabic: محمد صلاح حامد محروس غالي, Egyptian Arabic pronunciation: [mæˈħam.mæd sˤɑˈlɑːħ ˈɣæːli];[5] born 15 June 1992), known as Mohamed Salah or Mo Salah, is an Egyptian professional footballer who plays as a right winger or forward for Premier League club Liverpool and captains the Egypt national team. Regarded as one of the best players of his generation and among the greatest African players of all time, he is known for his clinical finishing, dribbling and speed.[6][7][8]
Salah started his senior career in 2010 playing for Al Mokawloon Al Arab, 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 unsuccessful title bid, reaching double figures in both goals and assists. In 2017, Salah signed for Liverpool for a then-club record transfer of £36.9 million. In his first season, he set the record for most Premier League goals scored (32) in a 38-game season and helped Liverpool to the 2018 UEFA Champions League final. Having formed a formidable attacking trio with Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mané after the departure of Philippe Coutinho, Salah went on to be an integral player in the club's Champions League and Premier League title successes in the following two seasons, and has since also won the FA Cup, EFL Cup and FA Community Shield. Salah has achieved numerous individual accolades, including two PFA Players' Player of the Year awards, three Premier League Golden Boots, the Premier League Player of the Season, the Premier League Playmaker of the Season, finished third for the Best FIFA Men's Player in 2018 and 2021, and finished fifth in the 2019 and 2022 FIFA Ballon d'Or. He received the 2018 FIFA Puskás Award for his winning strike in the first Merseyside derby of the 2017–18 season. In 2023, Salah became Liverpool's top Premier League goalscorer, and became the fifth player to score 200 goals for the club.
At international level, Salah represented Egypt at youth level before making his senior debut in 2011. Following his performances at the 2012 Summer Olympics, he was named CAF Most Promising African Talent of the Year. Since then, he finished as runner-up in the 2017 and 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, and was top scorer during CAF qualification as Egypt qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Salah was named CAF African Footballer of the Year (2017 and 2018), BBC African Footballer of the Year (2017 and 2018), and was selected in the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament, 2021 Africa Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament and the CAF Team of the Year on several occasions.
Salah is regarded as a symbol of national pride in Egypt for his achievements[9][10] and was named in Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential people in 2019.[11] Salah has also been credited for raising the profile of Liverpool among Egyptians.[12][13] To Egyptians, Salah is known as the "Fourth Pyramid".[14][15] Favoured across the Arab world, Salah is often known as the "Pride of the Arabs".[16][17]
