Mohamed Salah is highly regarded as one of the greatest Premier League players of all time, with the Egyptian winger still going strong at 33. Arne Slot’s Liverpool have been in inconsistent form this term, with the former Roma and Fiorentina forward struggling to maintain his status as the Reds’ biggest attacking threat.
He’s the fourth highest-scoring player in the division’s history, and will almost certainly creep higher on that list before his time at Anfield comes to a close if he can find his shooting boots once more. Supporters of the Merseyside-based outfit have fallen in love with the man affectionately known as the ‘Egyptian King’, with club icons even heaping praise on the electrifying wide player.
Steven Gerrard – perhaps the greatest player in the club’s history – has previously been glowing in his assessment of the Reds’ top Premier League scorer of all-time (per The Daily Mail): “I think he’s going to be one of these players that we’ll all appreciate even more when the day eventually comes when he moves on.”
While Gerrard is clearly a big fan of Salah, some players who previously pulled on the famous red shirt haven’t been as complimentary of the Egypt international. For example, Graeme Souness had some rather choice words for Salah following the winger’s infamous touchline spat with Jurgen Klopp against West Ham United in 2023.
Graeme Souness Slams Mo Salah
He branded the winger as ‘selfish’
Then-manager Klopp had opted not to select the Egyptian winger for the trip to the London Stadium as the Reds looked to desperately cling on to their fading Premier League title hopes. When he finally called upon his clinical goalscorer, the German boss was seen exchanging words with the player at the side of the pitch before his introduction.
Souness – who played 359 times for the club – didn’t hold back in his assessment of the situation on William Hill’s Three Up Front podcast. The Scottish midfielder-turned-pundit claimed: “He no doubt has an exceptionally large opinion of himself, and he’ll have been angry at not starting the game against West Ham last week. I think the situation with Jurgen Klopp was a reaction to only being brought on with 10 minutes to go – it was more Salah than it was Klopp in that confrontation.”
Not stopping there, Souness went on to claim that Salah is the ‘most selfish’ player he’s ever witnessed during his long time in the game. He continued:
“Salah is the most selfish player I have ever witnessed. Even prior to that game, whenever Klopp takes him off, he is never happy about it. That is what you want from your players, if you take them off on two goals, they should want to stay on to score a third. When Sadio Mane was there they’d fall out all the time.”
This opinion was doubled down on when Souness noted in his column for The Times: “He is perhaps as greedy a player as I have seen. All the top names have an element of that, but he is extremely selfish.”
Souness Claims Salah ‘Will Disappear’ in Games
He doesn’t think the Reds’ ace is willing to ‘get himself hurt’
Not only did he question whether Salah is a true team player, but the Liverpool legend went on to state he doesn’t think the Egypt international likes to get involved in aggressive battles with opponents on the pitch. Known for his hardman persona on the pitch, Souness said:
“When the going gets tough and another player puts it on him, Salah will disappear from a game.”
“Last season at Old Trafford, Lisandro Martínez went through him early on, and for the rest of the game Salah was looking over his shoulder for Martinez – he doesn’t like that side of the game. He’ll never get himself hurt.”
Souness was a hard-tackling, bruising midfielder during the peak of his playing days, while Salah is a graceful and elegant winger. The two are very different and clearly come with different ideas and approaches to the beautiful game.
Salah’s Liverpool Career So Far
The Egyptian is already among the club’s greats
Since his arrival from AS Roma in 2017 for a modest fee of £36.5 million, he’s been the best-performing player at Anfield season after season. He goes down as Klopp’s greatest-ever signing at the English club, ahead of the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker.
The most difficult skill in football is putting the ball in the back of the net consistently. However, Salah has made this look easy at times as he initially broke the record for the most goals in a Premier League season during his debut campaign in the red shirt. He also holds a top-10 spot in the all-time assists rankings, showing he is far from one-dimensional.
With his new contract signed towards the end of the 2024/25 season, the electric winger will be able to add even more to his stunning list of achievements at Anfield, having now secured a second Premier League trophy.
