Did Salah almost need the setback of his
time at Chelsea to make him the player he
is today? “I think so,” he says, after briefly
pondering the question. “I mean, when I look
back, I was young and I learned a lot. That
was one of the most important periods of my
life – I saw what I needed to do to improve
myself, what I needed to do to compete with
everyone at that level. I didn’t play that much
and I was disappointed, very disappointed –
I’m a player who wants to play and be on
the pitch all the time.
“I didn’t regret anything, any decision, and
you can ask anyone there – I was always
there before training in the gym, after training
doing shooting and stuff like that. I was never
being lazy or something, but it took a lot of
thinking at that time, about what I could do
to improve, what I could do to be at that
level. That’s why I decided I needed to leave
England at that moment, so I left for two
and a half years. Then I came back...”
Salah returned to the Premier League
a different player, and a different man. Every
time he takes to the field, he has no doubts
about his talent. “I’m confident,” he insists.
“I love playing football – this is the thing I do
and I enjoy it. There’s always pressure, but
that’s normal because you play at the top
level and you want to win things, both for
the team and individually. There is pressure,
but with time you can handle that more.”
Salah is relentless in his expectations of
himself. You don’t deliver as consistently
as he has over the last five years without
having that kind of mentality.
“During my career, I’ve learned a lot of
things – about how to be more in the game,
mentally and physically,” he says. “For me,
every single game is very important – nothing
changes from big game to small game. All of
them are big for me, because in all of them
you have to win the three points, or if you’re
playing in the Champions League, you have
to qualify. I prepare myself very well for every
game. That helps me a lot.”THE QUEST FOR THE BALLON D’OR
By early April this season, that mentality
had brought him 28 goals, already topping
his tally from the campaigns that delivered
Champions League and Premier League
glory. His 20 league goals had put him head
and shoulders above everyone else in the
division’s scoring charts, making him the
hottest of hot favourites to win the PFA Player
of the Year prize for a second time. This
season more than ever, many have started
to view him as the best player in the world.
Asked what the secret has been to his
goalscoring form this term, though, and
he’s adamant it’s nothing specific. “There’s
no secret!” he chuckles. “I think I’ve been
the team’s top scorer for the last five years,
and I’m always trying to help us win – not
only with my goals, but also my number ofassists are really high, compared with anyone
else in my position in the Premier League,”
he makes a point of adding. On the day we
talk, only Trent Alexander-Arnold can boast
more than the Egyptian’s 10 Premier League
assists this season.
But Salah doesn’t shy away from his
ambition to do something no player from an
Arab country has ever done: win the Ballon
d’Or. “Yeah,” he says. “Of course it means
a lot to win it. One of my purposes in life is to
change the people, especially in my country,
an Arab country – so that they can achieve
what they want to achieve. Those things give
them more belief in themselves, that they
can do whatever they want.”
So far, Salah is yet to top his fifth-placed
finish in the Ballon d’Or rankings following
Champions League glory in 2019 – many
were surprised that he finished just seventh
in the voting in 2021. This year, he’s been
vying with Karim Benzema and Robert
Lewandowski for top spot – Lionel Messi’s
underwhelming goals tally for Paris Saint-
Germain makes him unlikely to retain the
award, and France Football’s decision to hold
this year’s gala before the World Cup, only
including events up to and including July,
means there’s likely to be a greater emphasis
on club football.
Asked whether he currently views himself
as the best player in the world, Salah doesn’t
need long to think.
“In my mind, yes, I’m always saying that,”
he admits. “I will never say, ‘Yeah, I’m better
than this person or I’m better than that guy,’
no, but in my own mind I’m always choosing
myself as the best – I don’t choose anybody“In MY MInD, I ALWAYS PICK
MYSELF AS THE BEST PLAYER
In THE WORLD – nO OnE ELSE”
Clockwise from
top Salah’s Old
Trafford hat-trick
will live long in
Red memory;
“And we all get
winners’ medals,
right?”; Mo’s
favourite trophyFourFourTwo June 2022 35MO
SALAH