13 fun facts about Mohamed Salah

Mohamed Salah's father, Salah Ghaly, was an avid football lover himself and used to play the sport in his Nagrig village.

Being a football coach, he encouraged young Mohamed to pursue the sport, and was key to his early development as a footballer.

After spending two years in his hometown club Al Mokawloon, Mohamed Salah was signed by Swiss Super League side Basel, where he scored five goals in the league and helped them win the Swiss Super League.

Due to his performances, he was awarded the Swiss Super League Player of the Year in 2013.

Mohamed Salah is a devout Muslim and that faith extends to the football pitch as well. He often celebrates goals by performing sujood, a Muslim prayer gesture of prostration.

Salah performs a prayer of thanks by getting to his knees and placing his head on the ground.

"It's not kissing the ground," the Egyptian star told CNN in 2018. "It's something like praying or like thank God for what I have received, but yeah, it's just praying and praying for a win.

"[I’ve] always done that since I was young, everywhere.”

Salah admitted that kushari, an Egyptian delicacy that originated in the 19th century and is made of rice, macaroni, lentils, and topped with spicy tomatoes, chickpeas, and onions, is his favourite food.

"When I go back to Egypt, I call my friend from the airport to buy kushari for us to eat in the car. I pull my hoodie over my head, jump into the car and then I'm eating it straight away," he revealed in an interview with CNN in 2018.

When Mohamed Salah arrived for the-then club record transfer fee of £36.9 million in 2017, much was expected of the player..and he delivered.

In his debut season for the Merseysiders, the former Roma man scored a whopping 44 goals.

In the following season, he completed the milestone of scoring 50 goals for the Reds in just 65 games, making him the fastest player to do so in club history.

Mohamed Salah was required to complete military service in his home country as part of the country's mandatory conscription for men over the age of 18. However, due to his status as a professional athlete, he was able to defer his service until after his football career.

In 2014, Salah was initially set to complete his military service, but he was granted an exemption by the Egyptian government due to his football career.

However, he still completed a short period of basic training with the Egyptian Armed Forces, which he has described as a positive experience that taught him discipline and teamwork.

There is a true story about Mohamed Salah helping a thief find a job that took place in his hometown of Nagrig, Egypt, while Salah was playing in Alexandria. Salah's father, Salah Ghaly, confirmed the incident to the media.

The story goes that a thief broke into Salah's family's house in Nagrig, but was caught by the neighbors and handed over to the police.

When Salah heard about the incident, he intervened and spoke to the police on behalf of the thief, asking them to release him and not press charges.

Salah then reportedly gave the thief some money and offered to help him find a job, believing that the man had resorted to theft out of desperation and poverty. The thief, who was named as Amr Abdel Salam, later confirmed the story and said that he was grateful to Salah for giving him a second chance.

Overall, the incident is a testament to Salah's generosity and commitment to helping others, even in difficult or challenging situations.

Mohamed Salah has created and broken many records since arriving at Liverpool in 2017.

The 'Egyptian King' has scored 131 goals in the Premier League (129 for Liverpool, two for Chelsea), while scoring 44 goals in the UEFA Champions League, with 41 of those coming for the Reds.

No other African player has scored more goals than Salah in those two competitions, which goes to show just how deadly the winger is in front of goal and why he has been one of the best players in the world for quite some time now.

Sadio Mane, his former Liverpool teammate, is second on the list with 111 Premier League goals, while Chelsea legend Didier Drogba is tied with Salah for most goals scored by an African in the UEFA Champions League at 44 goals.

More than a million voters scratched out the names of two candidates, Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi and Moussa Mostafa Moussa, from their ballots in Egypt's 2018 presidential election in favour of Mohamed Salah, writing the Liverpool star's name instead.

Salah would have come in second in the election had they been counted as legitimate votes.

Mohamed Salah is known to have an interest in video games, particularly the FIFA series. He has been spotted playing FIFA with his teammates.

Salah has also expressed an interest in gaming beyond just FIFA. In 2021, he became a brand ambassador for the popular mobile game Free Fire, which is hugely popular in his home country of Egypt and throughout the Middle East.

Salah's interest in gaming has made him a popular figure among younger fans, and he has often been praised for his ability to connect with younger audiences through social media and other digital platforms.

Mohamed Salah is well known for his extensive charity work, both in Egypt and abroad.

He has donated millions of dollars to various causes, including education, health care, and social welfare initiatives. Salah is also a UNICEF ambassador, and has used his platform to raise awareness about issues affecting children, such as access to education and clean water.

Additionally, he has established a number of charitable organizations and initiatives, including the Mohamed Salah Charity Foundation, which provides financial assistance to needy families and supports community development projects.

Salah's generosity and commitment to making a positive impact on the world has earned him widespread admiration and respect, both on and off the football pitch.

Following a record-breaking season in his debut campaign at Liverpool, where he scored 32 goals in the Premier League, the most goals scored by any player in a single campaign, his boots were displayed at the British Museum.

The institution is known to have a wide range of artefacts and objects from different points in time.

We’ve made an exciting new acquisition! To celebrate Egyptian footballing star @MoSalah being top scorer in the Premier League this season, we’ll be displaying his boots alongside objects from ancient Egypt in the run up to the Champions League final ⚽️🏆 pic.twitter.com/DBZDW5Q6kD

— British Museum (@britishmuseum) May 17, 2018

In 2018, a documentary titled 'Mo Salah: A Football Fairytale' was released which featured interviews with experts, commentators, friends, and others who construct a picture of Salah's life and path to achievement and followed his success.