Mohamed Salah is an Egyptian soccer player most known for his prolific scoring, which has made him a vital member of both the English Premier League and the Egyptian national team.
Salah was crowned African Footballer of the Year in 2017 and Premier League Player of the Season in 2017-18 after scoring 32 goals for Liverpool FC in a single season. Salah has won the Golden Boot three times, which is given to the Premier League’s highest scorer each season.
Salah was born in Basyoun, Egypt, north of Cairo, to middle-class parents. As a child, he admired professional football stars such as Brazilian Ronaldo and French Zinedine Zidane, whose moves he attempted to imitate during pick-up games.
He joined the Egyptian club El Mokawloon’s youth team when he was 14 years old and made his senior team debut in 2010. Salah’s pace and ability to score quickly drew the attention of Swiss club FC Basel, which signed him to a contract in 2012.
In 2012–13, he helped FC Basel win the Swiss Super League and reach the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Europa League semifinals. That season, he was named the Swiss Golden Player as the best player in the Swiss Super League.
Mohamed Salah explains why he changed boots after missing Liverpool’s penalty
After a penalty miss threatened to spoil Liverpool’s evening against Newcastle on Monday, Mohamed Salah explained that a change of boots at halftime helped calm him down.
Salah’s penalty effort was stopped by visiting goalkeeper Martin Dubravka in the 22nd minute, with Trent Alexander-Arnold putting the rebound wide. However, Egypt’s star ultimately broke the tie early in the second period before making no mistake with another penalty late in the game.