Mo Salah: How he cast a spell beyond the pitch during his Liverpool years

When Mo Salah was barely in his third season with Liverpool in 2019, a study by Stanford University in the US showed that the practising Muslim star had actually played his part in reducing Islamophobia on Merseyside. The rate of anti-Muslim tweets by Reds fans went down by half while hate crime in the county reduced by 19 per cent since his arrival.

There was even a fan chant at Anfield which included the line: 'If he scores another few, then I’ll be Muslim too' — testimony to the goal-poaching abilities of the striker, who typically celebrated his goals with sujood, the Islamic act of prostration to God. Well, he did score a few since then — 255 to be precise — to emerge as the club’s third highest goal-scorer behind Roger Hunt (285) and Ian Rush (346).

While his announcement on Tuesday that he would be leaving the Reds camp at the end of the season was not unexpected, it has sparked a surge of emotions on the imminent departure of the Egyptian, whose impact certainly transcended the football pitch.

It’s not that Salah was the first Arab footballer to ply his trade in the Premier League — fellow Egyptian Mido was his predecessor at Tottenham and Middlesbrough — but there can be no comparison between the two.

Elaborating on the Salah effect, Imran Malik, a football writer and Merseyside resident long based in the UAE, told National Herald: ‘’There is enough academic evidence of his overriding influence as an Arab footballer in the UK. While his prolific scoring is on record, he won hearts with small human moments like performing the sujud after scoring a goal — the first visible display of Muslim faith in English football. As for any change in Islamophobia or reducing online hate crimes, it was probably more subtle.’’

What, however, was not so subtle for Malik to digest as a staunch Everton loyalist who was often present at the Merseyside derby was Salah’s consistency in scoring against them. ‘’He was always scoring against us,’’ he laughed.

It’s a testimony to the longevity and class of Salah, now 33, that his signing off in few months is reminiscent of the impact Juergen Klopp’s departure had in 2025. His nine years at Anfield were such decorated ones that Salah’s previous stints, a rather forgettable one at Chelsea in 2014-15 or AS Roma, have now been relegated to footnotes in his glittering CV.

The speculation is now about which club could be the next stop as Salah certainly has a good few years of football left in him. The names of Saudi Arabia’s Al Ittihad, San Diego FC of the US and Galatasaray of Turkey are doing the rounds — and Salah fans will be hoping he goes to the last-named as they turn up in the UEFA Champions League regularly.

Leading the tributes to Salah, Gary Lineker, former England captain and arguably one of their best strikers ever, said: “What a nine years it has been. He’s been a phenomenon. He’s an unbelievably brilliant footballer... He scored so many goals. He’s been so consistent for such a long period of time. I’d just like to say ‘thank you Mo’ for everything that you’ve done for English football, particularly the Premier League, and of course, for Liverpool.”

In his column for The Daily Telegraph, Jamie Carragher — who once questioned the wisdom of Liverpool spending £36.9 million (US $63.2 million) on a relatively unproven talent from AS Roma, wrote: “In the pantheon of overseas attacking players to have excelled in England, only Thierry Henry eclipses Salah’s output and consistency. While many will argue the merits of players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Eden Hazard, Gianfranco Zola, Dennis Bergkamp or Eric Cantona, none of them produced the same devastating numbers as consistently, season-after-season, as the Egyptian.”

Former Liverpool chief executive Peter Moore called it a privilege to be there at the start of Salah’s journey with the club. “Some players arrive at Liverpool with big expectations. A very small few leave as legends. Mo Salah leaves as one of the greatest to ever wear the shirt,” added the 70-year-old.

SALAH’S LIVERPOOL YEARS

Span: 2017 to 2026

Total goals: 255 (across competitions)

Premiership goals: 191 (fourth all-time high in Premier League era)

Titles: Champions League (2019); Premier League (2019-20, 2024-25); FA Cup (1); League Cups (2); Club World Cup (1); European Super Cup (1)

Personal honours: EPL Golden Boot (4); PFA Player of the Year (3).