Portal:Egypt/Selected biography/8



Mohamed Salah Hamed Mahrous Ghaly (محمد صلاح حامد محروس غالى ; born 15 June 1992) is an Egyptian professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Liverpool and the Egypt national team. Considered one of the best players in the world, he is known for his finishing, dribbling, and speed.

Salah started his senior career with Cairo club El Mokawloon in the Egyptian Premier League in 2010, departing shortly thereafter to join Basel for an undisclosed fee. In Switzerland, he starred as he won the league title in his debut season, winning the SAFP Golden Player Award in the process. Salah's performances then attracted Premier League side Chelsea, and he joined the club for a £11 million fee in 2014. However, he was used sparingly in his debut season and was allowed to leave on loan to Serie A clubs Fiorentina and Roma, with the latter eventually signing him permanently for €15 million.

Following consistent match-winning performances in Rome to lead them to second-placed finish and a record points-tally in 2017, Salah returned to the Premier League in order to sign for Liverpool for a then club-record fee of £36.9 million. During his second spell in England, he adapted his game from a natural winger to a complete forward and quickly became the focal point of the team. Salah would go on to break the Premier League scoring record for a 38 game season, receiving the Premier League Golden Boot after registering a record 32 goals in 36 league games. His record-breaking performances saw him receive a number of other accolades, including the PFA Players' Player of the Year, the Football Writers' Player of the Year and the PFA Fans' Player of the Year awards. Salah also came third in the award for the 2018 Best FIFA Men's Player. The following season he was joint recipient of the Premier League Golden Boot with 22 goals, and in the 2019 UEFA Champions League Final he opened the scoring as Liverpool won 2–0.

At international level, Salah represented Egypt at youth level, winning a bronze medal in the Africa U-20 Cup of Nations, and participated in the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup, prior to debuting for the senior side later that year. Following his performances at the 2012 Summer Olympics. he was named CAF Most Promising African Talent of the Year. Since then, he has helped Egypt reach the final of the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations, and was top scorer during CAF qualification to help the team qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. For his performances, Salah was named CAF African Footballer of the Year, BBC African Footballer of the Year, and was selected in the CAF Team of the Year and Africa Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament.

An advocate of women’s equality in the Middle East – he states, "We need to change the way we treat women in our culture“ – in 2019 Salah was named by Time as one of the 100 most influential people in the world, and was one of the six cover stars on the magazine.