In the modern era, it is highly unusual for a club like Chelsea to have a player on its books, let them go and see them become one of the best players in the world in their position. Sadly for the Blues, it happened twice in the Premier League era, with Kevin de Bruyne going on to become a lynchpin in the Manchester City midfield and Mohamed Salah leading Liverpool to both Premier League and Champions League glory. He would no doubt argue that he wasn’t given a fair chance by firstly José Mourinho and then Guus Hiddink, but he probably won’t complain about the career he went on to have.
Growing Up in Egypt
Mohamed Salah Hamed Mahrous Ghaly was born in the Egyptian village of Nagrig on the 15th of June 1992. Almost as soon as he could kick a ball, Salah went on to join the youth setups of Ittihad Basyoun and Othmason Tanta. As a child, he would watch the likes of Brazil’s Ronaldo, France’s Zinedine Zidane and Italy’s Francesco Totti, idolising their performances and looking to emulate them. In 2006, he was recruited into the youth team of Al Mokawloon Al Arab, having been spotted as a 14-year-old by a scout who had gone to watch someone else but was mesmerised by Salah.
He took on the three-hour journey to train with the club, often missing school in order to do so. When he was 15, Salah was spotted by the manager of the first team, Mohamed Radwan, who put him in the first-team squad. His young age meant his muscles weren’t formed, so he had to be given a special diet and training programme. His debut came on the third of May 2010, slowly becoming a regular in the team even though he struggled to score. His first goal came on the 25th of December 2010. He appeared in every game of the 2011-2012 season, prior to its cancellation after the Port Said Stadium riot.
Spotted by Chelsea
Having been monitoring Salah for some time, Swiss Super League team Basel decided to take a punt on the forward after the suspension of the Egyptian Premier League season. After scoring twice in a friendly for Egypt’s Under-23s side against Basel, the club invited him to train with them for a week. He signed a four-year contract with them on the tenth of April 2012, going on to score numerous times for them in the months that followed. They won the 2013 Uhrencup ahead of the start of the 2013-2014 campaign, which Salah was a part of, as he was once the season began properly.
𝗔𝗟𝗨𝗠𝗡𝗜: 🇪🇬 Mohamed Salah, Basel 🔴🔵
Name another former Rotblau star?#ThrowbackThursday | @FCBasel1893 | #UECL pic.twitter.com/VMuIAzajc4
— UEFA Conference League (@Conf_League) September 2, 2021
His first league appearance of the season resulted in a goal, as did his Champions League game against Maccabi Tel Aviv. He continued to impress, scoring on a regular basis, including a double against Young Boys, Basel’s rivals for the Swiss title. His goals were part of the reason that Basel were able to win their fifth title in a row, but on the 23rd of January 2014, it was announced that he would be leaving Basel. His departure came after he scored 21 goals across 95 games for the club, including seven in European matches. That had been enough to catch the eye of Chelsea’s scouts.
Arriving at Stamford Bridge
Having announced a deal to sign Salah for a fee of around £11 million, the transfer for the Egyptian was confirmed three days later. That made him the first Egyptian to sign for the London side, making his debut when he came on as a substitute against Newcastle United. His first goal for the Blues came a week later when he replaced Oscar in the London derby against Arsenal, securing a 6-0 win. On the fifth of April, Chelsea played Stoke City and Salah scored, won a penalty and assisted the third goal in what turned out to be a comfortable 3-0 win for Chelsea.
Prior to the start of the 2014-2015 season, Salah’s Stamford Bridge future was put in question when reports emerged suggesting that he would have to return to Egypt in order to carry out his military service. After a meeting with the then-Egyptian Prime Minister, Ibrahim Mahlab, his military service was decided unnecessary. When Eden Hazard switched to become Chelsea’s number 10, Salah decided to take his number 17 shirt. José Mourinho had returned as the manager of the Blues and rarely used Salah, publicly criticising him and André Schürrle after a League Cup game against Shrewsbury Town.
The Long Goodbye From Chelsea
In spite of his goalscoring exploits with Chelsea, Salah was never really given a fair crack of the whip by José Mourinho. Even though he only made three league appearances, the Portuguese manager did later confirm that he would get a Premier League winners’ medal. On transfer deadline day, which fell on the second of February in 2015, Salah was sent on loan to Fiorentina for 18 months. That was done as part of a deal that saw Juan Cuadrado head in the other direction. He impressed in Italy, helping the team make it the last 16 of the Europa League after scoring against Tottenham Hotspur.
Fiorentina activated a clause to make the loan move permanent, but Salah refused. Instead, he ended up on loan at fellow Serie A side Roma, which Fiorentina complained about to FIFA, but the Court of Arbitration for Sport cleared him and Chelsea of any wrongdoing. Roma signed him on loan for €5 million with the option of making the deal permanent for €15 million, which they ended up confirming on the third of August 2016 in the wake of an impressive first season at the club. His second season was also impressive, helping Roma to finish second in Serie A, four points off champions Juventus.
Proving the Blues Wrong
Having scored 19 goals in all competitions for Roma during the 2016-2017 season, Salah was signed by Liverpool for an initial fee of £36.5 million, which could rise to £43 million. Given the number 11 shirt at Anfield, Salah had one of the most impressive seasons any player has ever had in the Premier League. He refused to celebrate when he scored against Chelsea, which was a goal on the way to netting 44 times in all competitions, making him the leading goalscorer across Europe’s top five leagues. He also became the first player to score 32 goals in a 38-game Premier League campaign.
Although the Merseyside club lost the Champions League final at the end of Salah’s first season, with the player himself being injured by Sergio Ramos in the match, they made it back to the final the following season and won it, beating Tottenham Hotspur 2-0. They won the Premier League the season after that, as well as coming close to winning the quadruple in the 2021-2022 campaign, losing in the Champions League final and missing out on the Premier League on the final day. Salah continued to be a vital part of Liverpool’s team, including when they won the Premier League again in 2024-2025, showing up the mistake Chelsea made in letting him go.