Mohamed Salah’s arrival at Liverpool FC in 2017 reignited a lifelong fan’s passion for the club, transforming it into a source of joy and belief, and making it a must-watch team once more. Picture: PAUL ELLIS / AFP
Image: PAUL ELLIS / AFP
When Mohamed Salah arrived at Liverpool FC in 2017, I didn’t believe the hype. I’d seen too many “promising” signings come and go, too many false dawns. Supporting Liverpool had become an exercise in managing expectations rather than dreaming big.
Nine years later, as Salah prepares to leave Anfield as a legend, I realise he didn’t just transform a football team — he transformed how I felt about it.
I started supporting Liverpool in 1990, as a four-year-old, when they were champions of England. Back then, success felt like a given. But what followed was a long, frustrating wait — decades where hope flickered, only to be extinguished just when it burned brightest.
There were moments, of course. Cup wins. That unforgettable night in Istanbul. But the league title — the one that truly defines Liverpool — always seemed just out of reach. Near-misses hurt the most, none more than the season that slipped (we won’t mention Steven Gerrard) away in the cruellest fashion.
Somewhere along the way, the romance faded. I still watched, still cared, but the emotional investment dulled. Liverpool were no longer the centre of my footballing world — just a part of it.
Then Salah arrived.
From the very beginning, there was something different about him. The goals came in floods, yes, but it was more than that. It was the joy, the relentlessness, the sense that anything was possible every time he had up the ball.
Under Jürgen Klopp, Liverpool were already rebuilding, but Salah made them electric. Alongside Sadio Mané and Roberto Firmino, he turned hope into belief.
And for me, belief turned back into love.
I found myself rearranging my weekends again, counting down to kick-off, feeling that familiar buzz before big games. Liverpool weren’t just a team I supported — they were must-watch again.
The trophies followed. European glory. Long-awaited league titles, including that emotional 2019/20 triumph that ended a 30-year wait. Even in a new era under Arne Slot, Salah remained the constant — the heartbeat of it all.
His numbers are staggering: 255 goals in 435 appearances, a place among the club’s all-time greats, and multiple Golden Boots. But statistics don’t capture what he truly gave fans like me.
He gave us our club back.
He reminded us what it feels like to believe, to dream, to be excited about Liverpool again. In an era where football can often feel transactional and detached, Salah made it personal.
And that’s why, for me, his legacy goes far beyond goals and trophies.
Mohamed Salah didn’t just make Liverpool successful again.
He made me fall in love with them again.
* The views expressed are not necessarily the views of IOL or Independent Media.
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