Mohamed Salah has revealed his childhood hero and it is none other than a two-time Ballon d’Or and World Cup winner.
Mohamed Salah recently sat down with two young Liverpool supporters on behalf of the Standard Chartered Play On programme to discuss his early days in football.
The Liverpool goal machine spoke about what life was like for him growing up in Egypt and the conversation was steered towards who he looked up to as a boy.
One of the fans stated that Salah was her favourite player and he too had one player in mind who inspired him to become the footballer he is today.
The 33-year-old told Liverpool FC that his role model was Brazilian Ronaldo, also known as R9. Salah and Ronaldo are certainly not identical in their playing styles, but there are some similarities between the players.
Both men have won a long list of honours with their teams and have received individual awards for their accomplishments.
Ronaldo won the Ballon d’Or twice during his career, an honour which has never been bestowed on Salah. As well as this, the retired forward is a two-time winner of the World Cup, a tournament which has never offered the winger any success with Egypt.
However, Ronaldo never won the Champions League during his career, despite representing some of Europe’s biggest clubs including Barcelona, Inter, Real Madrid and AC Milan.
Salah on the other hand has won club football’s most prestigious trophy, as Liverpool were victorious in 2019. The Reds also reached the final in 2018 and 2022, but were defeated by Real Madrid on both occasions.
Many young supporters of both Liverpool and other clubs will now see Salah as their football idol and he is continuing to build a lasting legacy at the club where he has spent most of his senior career.
The wing wizard signed a contract earlier this year which will keep him at Anfield until 2027. Whether he will see out this period of time remains to be seen, but regardless of what happens, he will be remembered fondly for his significant contributions to Liverpool.
