Mohamed Salah facts for kids
Salah with Egypt at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 15 June 1992 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Nagrig, Basyoun, Egypt | ||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.75 m | ||||||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Right winger, forward | ||||||||||||||||||
| Club information | |||||||||||||||||||
| Current club | Liverpool | ||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2004–2005 | Ittihad Basyoun | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2005–2006 | Othmason Tanta | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2006–2010 | Al-Mokawloon | ||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | ||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2012 | Al-Mokawloon | 37 | (11) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2014 | Basel | 47 | (9) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2016 | Chelsea | 13 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2015 | → Fiorentina (loan) | 16 | (6) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2016 | → Roma (loan) | 34 | (14) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | Roma | 31 | (15) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2017– | Liverpool | 279 | (182) | ||||||||||||||||
| National team‡ | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2011 | Egypt U20 | 11 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2012 | Egypt U23 | 11 | (4) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2011– | Egypt | 105 | (60) | ||||||||||||||||
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Honours
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† Appearances (Goals). |
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Mohamed Salah Hamed Mahrous Ghaly (born 15 June 1992), known as Mohamed Salah or Mo Salah, is a famous Egyptian footballer. He plays as a right winger or forward for Liverpool and is the captain of the Egypt national team. Many people think he is one of the best players of his generation and one of the greatest African players ever. He is known for his amazing goal-scoring, dribbling, speed, and ability to create chances for his teammates.
Salah started his senior career in 2010 with Al-Mokawloon in Egypt. In 2012, he moved to Basel in Switzerland, where he won two league titles. In 2014, he joined Chelsea in England. He didn't play much there, so he went on loan to Italian clubs Fiorentina and then Roma. Roma later signed him permanently.
In 2017, Salah moved to Liverpool for a club-record fee. In his first season, he broke the record for most Premier League goals (32) in a 38-game season. He helped Liverpool reach the 2018 UEFA Champions League final. With Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mané, Salah became a key player in Liverpool's success. They won the Champions League in 2019 and the Premier League in 2020. He has also won the FA Cup, EFL Cup, FA Community Shield, UEFA Super Cup, and the FIFA Club World Cup.
Salah has won many individual awards. These include two PFA Players' Player of the Year awards and three Premier League Golden Boots for being the top scorer. He also won the Premier League Player of the Season and the Premier League Playmaker of the Season. In 2023, Salah became Liverpool's top goalscorer in the Premier League. He also became the fifth player to score 200 goals for the club. In 2025, he became Liverpool's third-highest goalscorer in the club's history.
For his country, Salah played for Egypt's youth teams before joining the senior team in 2011. After his great performances at the 2012 Summer Olympics, he was named CAF Most Promising African Talent of the Year. He helped Egypt reach the finals of the 2017 and 2021 Africa Cup of Nations. He was also the top scorer in the qualifying games for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Salah has been named CAF African Footballer of the Year twice (2017 and 2018). He is seen as a symbol of national pride in Egypt.
Contents
Mohamed Salah's Football Journey
Early Days in Egypt
Salah started playing football in youth teams like Ittihad Basyoun and Othmason Tanta. His childhood heroes were famous players like Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane, and Francesco Totti. In 2006, when he was 14, he joined the youth team of Al Mokawloon Al Arab. A scout noticed him, even though the scout was there to watch another player.
Salah often had to miss school to travel three hours for training. When he was 15, the first-team manager, Mohamed Radwan, saw his talent and moved him to the senior squad. Salah had a special diet and training plan because he was so young.
He made his first team debut on 3 May 2010. He became a regular player during the 2010–11 season. Salah sometimes cried after games if he didn't score, which his coach said only made him work harder. He scored his first goal on 25 December 2010. The Egyptian Premier League was stopped in 2012 after a sad event, and the rest of the season was cancelled.
Moving to Europe: Basel
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Swiss Super League club Basel had been watching Salah. After the Egyptian league stopped, Basel set up a friendly match with the Egypt under-23 team. Salah played only the second half but scored two goals, helping Egypt win 4–3. Basel then invited him for a week of training.
On 10 April 2012, Salah signed a four-year contract with Basel. He found it a bit hard to settle in at first because he didn't speak the language. He scored in his first unofficial game on 23 June 2012. His official debut for Basel was on 8 August in a Champions League match. He scored his first league goal a week later.
Salah scored his first UEFA Europa League goal on 11 April 2013, helping Basel reach the semi-finals. Basel won the 2012–13 Swiss Super League title that season. In his final season with Basel, 2013–14, he continued to play well. He scored important goals in the Champions League, including two against Chelsea. Basel won the league title for the fifth time in a row. Salah played 95 games for Basel, scoring 21 goals.
Time at Chelsea
On 23 January 2014, Premier League club Chelsea signed Salah for about £11 million. This made him the first Egyptian player to join the London club. Liverpool was also interested in him, but Chelsea signed him first.
Salah made his Chelsea debut on 8 February 2014. He scored his first goal for Chelsea on 22 March against Arsenal in a big 6–0 win. He also helped Chelsea win against Stoke City by scoring and assisting.
During the 2014–15 season, Salah didn't play much for Chelsea. He made only a few appearances in the league and cup games. His manager, José Mourinho, sometimes criticized his performances. Even though he played only three league games, Mourinho said he would get a winner's medal because of his small contributions to the team winning the league.
Loans to Fiorentina and Roma
On 2 February 2015, Salah joined Italian club Fiorentina on an 18-month loan. He made his debut six days later. Salah chose the number 74 shirt to honor the victims of a stadium riot in Egypt.
He scored his first goal for Fiorentina on 14 February against Sassuolo. He also scored his first European goal for Fiorentina, helping them beat Tottenham. Salah scored the winning goal against Inter Milan and two goals against Juventus in the Coppa Italia. Fiorentina wanted to sign him permanently, but Salah decided not to stay.
Instead, on 6 August 2015, Salah joined Roma on a season-long loan. He wore the number 11 shirt. He scored his first goal for Roma on 20 September. He continued to score in his next two matches. On 25 October, he scored against his former club Fiorentina. He scored 15 goals in 42 matches for Roma in the 2015–16 season. Roma finished third in Serie A and qualified for the Champions League. He was named Roma's Player of the Season.
Permanent Move to Roma
On 3 August 2016, Roma signed Salah permanently. He scored his first goal of the season in a 4–0 win. On 6 November, Salah scored his first career hat-trick in a 3–0 win over Bologna. He was out for a month due to an ankle injury. He returned in December and scored again in February. Roma finished second in the league, and Salah scored 19 goals in all competitions.
Liverpool Success
On 22 June 2017, Salah joined Liverpool for a club-record fee of £36.5 million. He was given the number 11 shirt. He became Liverpool's first Egyptian player. He scored on his Premier League debut on 12 August in a 3–3 draw against Watford. He scored his first goal at Anfield on 24 August. For his great performances in August, Liverpool fans voted him Player of the Month.
On 26 November 2017, Salah scored against his old team Chelsea but didn't celebrate out of respect. He quickly became the top scorer in the Premier League. On 17 March 2018, Salah scored four goals in a 5–0 win over Watford, which was his first hat-trick for Liverpool. He broke the record for most goals in a debut season for Liverpool. Former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard said, "we are witnessing the start of greatness."
In April 2018, he scored in both Champions League quarter-final matches against Manchester City. On 22 April, he won the PFA Players' Player of the Year award. He scored two more goals against Roma in the Champions League semi-final. This made him the first African player and first Liverpool player to score 10 goals in one Champions League season. He became Liverpool's second-highest goalscorer in a single season, with 43 goals. He also broke the Premier League record for a 38-game season by scoring 32 goals, winning the Premier League Golden Boot.
In the 2018 Champions League final against Real Madrid, Salah got a shoulder injury early in the game. He had to leave the field, and Liverpool lost 3–1.
European Champion and More Goals
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On 2 July 2018, Salah signed a new long-term contract with Liverpool. On 12 August, he scored Liverpool's first goal of the new season. On 24 October, Salah scored two goals against Red Star Belgrade, reaching 50 goals for the club in just 65 games. This made him the fastest player in Liverpool history to reach 50 goals.
On 8 December, Salah scored a hat-trick against Bournemouth, helping Liverpool go to the top of the league. Three days later, he scored the winning goal against Napoli to help Liverpool qualify for the Champions League knockout stage. On 19 January 2019, he scored his 50th Premier League goal in 72 games, becoming one of the fastest players to reach this milestone.
On 5 April, he scored his 50th Premier League goal for Liverpool in just 69 games, breaking a club record. Later that month, he scored a powerful goal against Chelsea. On 26 April, he played his 100th game for Liverpool and scored twice, taking his total to 69 goals in his first 100 appearances, another club record.
On 1 June, Salah scored Liverpool's first goal from a penalty in the 2019 Champions League final against Tottenham. This goal was the second fastest ever scored in a Champions League final.
Premier League Champion
On 9 August 2019, Salah scored in Liverpool's first game of the 2019–20 Premier League season. On 14 August, he scored the winning penalty in the 2019 UEFA Super Cup against Chelsea. In December, Salah played his 100th Premier League game and scored a goal and an assist. Later that month, Liverpool won the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup, and Salah won the Golden Ball award for the best player of the tournament.
On 19 January 2020, Salah scored against rivals Manchester United. On 29 January, he scored as Liverpool beat every team in a Premier League season for the first time in 127 years. On 7 March, he scored as Liverpool set an English top-flight record of 22 consecutive home wins. His 20th goal of the season made him the first Liverpool player since Michael Owen to score 20 goals in three seasons in a row. On 24 June 2020, Liverpool won the Premier League title. Salah scored two more goals after that before lifting the trophy.
More Records and Achievements
On 12 September 2020, Salah scored a hat-trick in the first league match of the season. He became the first Liverpool player to score in four straight league openers. On 17 October 2020, he scored his 100th goal for Liverpool in his 159th game, becoming the third fastest to reach this milestone.
On 31 January 2021, Salah scored two goals and became the fifth Liverpool player to score over 20 goals in four consecutive seasons. His goal was also voted Premier League Goal of the Month. On 24 April, he became the first Liverpool player to score 20 goals in three different Premier League campaigns.
Salah started the 2021–22 season by scoring in the opening game for the fifth season in a row, a Premier League first. On 12 September, he scored his 100th Premier League goal. On 25 September, he scored his 100th Premier League goal for Liverpool in fewer games than any other player in the club's history. This goal also put him in Liverpool's top 10 all-time scorers list.
On 19 October 2021, Salah became the first Liverpool player to score in nine consecutive games. He also became Liverpool's record goalscorer in the Champions League with 31 goals. In his next game on 24 October, Salah scored a hat-trick against Manchester United in a 5–0 win. He became the highest-scoring African player in Premier League history. His goal against Manchester City was named Premier League Goal of the Season.
On 7 December 2021, Salah scored his 20th goal of the season, becoming the first Liverpool player since Ian Rush to score 20 goals in five seasons in a row. On 19 February 2022, Salah scored his 150th goal for the club. On 29 April, he was named England's Men's Footballer of the Year for the second time. On 22 May, Salah won his third Golden Boot award, sharing it with Son Heung-min. He also won the Playmaker of the Season award for having the most assists. Liverpool won the EFL Cup and FA Cup that season.
Recent Seasons
On 1 July 2022, Salah signed a new contract with Liverpool. On 6 August, he became the first player to score on the opening day of six seasons in a row. On 12 October, Salah scored three goals in just over six minutes against Rangers in the Champions League. This was the fastest Champions League hat-trick ever! He also became the highest goalscorer for an English team in European competitions.
On 7 January 2023, Salah passed Kenny Dalglish to become sixth on Liverpool's all-time top scorers list. On 21 February, he became Liverpool's top goalscorer in European competitions. On 5 March, Salah scored two goals and gave two assists against Manchester United in a huge 7–0 win. He became Liverpool's top scorer in the Premier League with 129 goals. He also became the highest-scoring Egyptian player ever with 303 career goals.
In the 2023–24 season, Salah received a big offer from a Saudi Arabian club, but he chose to stay with Liverpool. His manager, Jürgen Klopp, said Salah was "world class" and smart enough to adapt to new roles.
On 21 October 2023, Salah scored his 200th and 201st league goals in the Merseyside derby. On 26 October, he became the highest-scoring Premier League player in European competitions. On 9 December, Salah scored his 200th goal for Liverpool, becoming the fifth player at the club to reach this milestone. On 14 March 2024, he became the first player to score at least 20 goals in seven seasons in a row for Liverpool, breaking Ian Rush's record. He also became the visiting player with the most Premier League goals at Old Trafford (Manchester United's stadium).
On 17 August 2024, Salah broke the record for most goals scored on opening day in Premier League history. On 2 October, he became the all-time highest-scoring African player in the Champions League. On 24 November, he scored his 100th away goal for Liverpool. On 4 December, he became the first player in Premier League history to both score and assist in 37 separate matches.
On 10 December 2024, he scored his 50th Champions League goal for Liverpool. Four days later, he got his 100th assist for Liverpool. On 22 December, he became the first player in Premier League history to reach double figures in both goals and assists before Christmas. He also became Liverpool's fourth-highest goalscorer of all time. By Boxing Day 2024, he entered the top 50 goalscorers in English top-flight history. He also became the joint-highest foreign goalscorer in English football, tied with Sergio Agüero.
On 21 January 2025, Salah scored his 50th goal for Liverpool in European competitions. He also became only the fifth player in Premier League history to score at least 20 goals in a season for the fifth time. On 12 February, he became the fourth player to record 100 goal involvements in 100 Premier League matches. On 19 February, he became the first player to score 15 away league goals in a single season. Four days later, he set five more Premier League and club records, including being the first player in Europe's top five leagues to reach 50 goal involvements in a season. On 8 March, he became the third-highest goalscorer in Liverpool history.
International Career
Youth Teams
Salah played for Egypt's under-20 and under-23 teams. He played in the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup and the 2012 Summer Olympics. In the Olympics, he scored in all three group games, helping Egypt reach the knockout stage.
Senior National Team
Salah made his debut for the senior Egypt national team on 3 September 2011. He scored his first goal for Egypt a month later. He scored important goals in World Cup qualifiers, including a hat-trick against Zimbabwe in 2013. He was the top scorer for African teams in those qualifiers.
Salah was part of the Egypt squad for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations. He scored in Egypt's win over Ghana and helped them reach the final. He scored twice and assisted twice in the tournament, earning a spot in the Team of the Tournament.
Salah was the top scorer for Egypt with five goals during 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification. He scored both goals in the decisive 2–1 win over Congo, which sent Egypt to their first World Cup since 1990. Despite a shoulder injury, Salah played in the 2018 FIFA World Cup. He scored a penalty against Russia and another goal against Saudi Arabia.
On 8 September 2018, Salah scored two goals and provided two assists in a 6–0 win over Niger. On 16 June 2019, he was captain for the first time in a friendly game. He scored his first goal of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations on 26 June. Salah was named captain of the Egypt national team in September 2019.
In 2021–22, Salah's Egypt team played against his Liverpool teammate Sadio Mané's Senegal team twice. Egypt lost both matches in penalty shoot-outs.
On 24 March 2023, Salah scored his 50th international goal for Egypt. On 16 November, he scored four goals against Djibouti, becoming Egypt's highest goalscorer in World Cup qualification matches. On 14 January 2024, he scored a penalty in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, becoming the first Egyptian to score in four different AFCON tournaments. He earned his 100th international cap on 10 June 2024, also scoring a goal in that game.
Personal Life
Salah and his wife, Magi, got married in 2013. Their first daughter, Makka, was born in 2014 and is named after the holy city of Mecca. They had a second daughter, Kayan, in 2020. Salah is Muslim and often celebrates goals by performing the sujud, which is like thanking God. He said it's something he has always done since he was young.
Salah enjoys playing football on his PlayStation. He jokingly said that "Salah in the video game is stronger than the real one." He also likes to choose Liverpool as his team when playing video games, as he loved the club when he was younger. His favorite food is kushari, a traditional Egyptian dish.
During the 2018 Egyptian presidential election, many people wrote Salah's name on their ballot papers instead of the candidates, showing how popular he is.
Outside Football
Sponsors and Advertisements
Salah has a sponsorship deal with Adidas. He appeared in an Adidas 2018 World Cup commercial with other famous players like David Beckham and Lionel Messi. In March 2018, Salah was in an advertisement for Vodafone Egypt.
Charity Work
Salah is very active in helping his hometown, Nagrig, where many people live in poverty. He has donated money to help build a school and a hospital. His father said Salah refused any financial help for these projects.
Once, Salah's family was robbed. The thief was caught, and Salah's father wanted to press charges. But Mohamed convinced him to drop the case. After that, Salah even helped the thief financially and tried to find him a job. In February 2018, he gave a replica shirt to a young fan. Mohamed Salah has also helped over 450 families by giving them monthly money. He also gave about $300,000 to the Egyptian government during an economic crisis.
On 14 August 2022, a fire broke out at a church in Giza, Egypt, and 41 people died. Salah shared his sadness online and donated three million Egyptian pounds to help rebuild the church. During the Gaza war, Salah asked for humanitarian aid to be allowed into the Gaza Strip. He also donated money to support the Palestinian people.
Honours
Basel
- Swiss Super League: 2012–13, 2013–14
Liverpool
- Premier League: 2019–20
- FA Cup: 2021–22
- EFL Cup: 2021–22, 2023-24
- FA Community Shield: 2022
- UEFA Champions League: 2018–19; runner-up: 2017–18, 2021–22
- UEFA Super Cup: 2019
- FIFA Club World Cup: 2019
Egypt
- Africa Cup of Nations runner-up: 2017, 2021
Individual Awards
- CAF Most Promising Talent of the Year: 2012
- Swiss Super League Player of the Year: 2013
- AS Roma Player of the Season: 2015–16
- CAF Team of the Year: 2017, 2018, 2019, 2023, 2024
- Africa Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament: 2017, 2021
- Premier League Player of the Month: November 2017, February 2018, March 2018, October 2021, October 2023, November 2024, February 2025
- BBC African Footballer of the Year: 2017, 2018
- African Footballer of the Year: 2017, 2018
- PFA Players' Player of the Year: 2017–18, 2021–22
- FWA Footballer of the Year: 2017–18, 2021–22
- Premier League Golden Boot: 2017–18, 2018–19 (shared), 2021–22 (shared)
- Premier League Player of the Season: 2017–18
- Premier League Playmaker of the Season: 2021–22
- Premier League Goal of the Season: 2021–22
- PFA Premier League Team of the Year: 2017–18, 2020–21, 2021–22
- Liverpool Players' Player of the Season: 2017–18, 2020–21, 2021–22,2023–24
- FIFA Puskás Award: 2018
- FIFA Club World Cup Golden Ball: 2019
- Time 100: 2019
- Golden Foot: 2021
Records
As of match played 21 March 2025
Europe
- Fastest hat-trick in a UEFA Champions League match: 6 minutes and 12 seconds (against Rangers, 12 October 2022)
- Most Champions League goals for an English club: 45 for Liverpool
- Most goals scored in UEFA club competitions by an African player: 61
- All-time African top goalscorer in UEFA Champions League history: 50
England
- Most goals by an African player in a Premier League season: 32 in 2017–18
- First and only player to score on the opening day of six consecutive Premier League seasons: 2017–18 to 2022–23
- Highest-scoring African player in Premier League history: 184
- Most Premier League games with both a goal and assist: 42
- First player to reach double figures for goals and assists before Christmas in Premier League history (Achieved on 22 December in 2024–25)
- Most Premier League seasons with both 10+ goals and 10+ assists: 6
- Most away goals in a single Premier League season: 16 in 2024–25 (shared with Kevin Phillips and Harry Kane)
- All-time highest scoring foreign player in Premier League history: 184 (shared with Sergio Agüero)
Liverpool
- Most goals in a debut season: 44 in 2017–18
- Fastest player to score 50 goals for Liverpool: 65 games in 2018–19
- Fastest Liverpool player to score 50 Premier League goals: 69 games in 2018–19
- All-time Liverpool top goalscorer in the UEFA Champions League: 45
- First and only Liverpool player to score at least 20 goals in five different Premier League seasons
- Most consecutive games a player has scored for Liverpool: 10 in 2021–22
- Liverpool top goalscorer in the Premier League: 182
- First player in Liverpool history to score at least 20 goals in eight consecutive seasons in all competitions: 2017–18 to 2024–25
Egypt
- Egypt's all-time highest scorer in FIFA World Cup history: 2 in 2018 (shared with Abdulrahman Fawzi)
- Egypt's all-time highest scorer in FIFA World Cup qualification: 17
- First and only Egyptian player to score in four consecutive Africa Cup of Nations editions
Italy
- Highest-scoring Egyptian in Serie A history: 35 goals
Images for kids
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Salah with Egypt at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
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Salah playing for Basel in the UEFA Europa League in March 2013
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Salah playing for Chelsea in August 2014
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Salah playing for Fiorentina in the Europa League in 2015
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Salah playing for Liverpool in 2017. His performances in the 2017–18 season saw him receive many awards.
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Salah during a warm-up ahead of a pre-season match on 7 August 2018
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Salah at the Champions League trophy parade in Liverpool on 2 June 2019
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Salah playing for Liverpool in the 2019 UEFA Super Cup
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Salah during a pre-season game for Liverpool in 2021
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Salah (right) playing for Liverpool in 2022 against RB Leipzig
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Salah (number 19) playing for Egypt against Tunisia during a friendly match in October 2012
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Salah playing for Egypt at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
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Salah with the UEFA Super Cup trophy in 2019
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