Mohamed Salah revealed that former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was happy with how the Egyptian superstar has done at Liverpool when the two met. One of the biggest criticisms for Mourinho during his illustrious managerial career has been his failure to get the most out of Mohamed Salah.
It was none other than Jose Mourinho who signed the now-Liverpool superstar for the first time in the Premier League. The Portuguese manager signed Mohamed Salah at Chelsea for £11 million from Basel in January 2014.
However, Salah never quite managed to find his feet at Stamford Bridge and only got a few opportunities to shine under Jose Mourinho. He played just 19 games under the Special One, scoring twice and producing four assists.
Salah has eventually etched his name among the greatest players to have played in the Premier League during his time at Liverpool. While reflecting on his chemistry with Mourinho, Mohamed Salah insisted that he has no hard feelings for the former Manchester United boss. He said, as quoted by The Mirror:
“I did meet him twice – in our match here at Anfield [Liverpool vs Manchester United] and in the other match in Manchester. He told me that he is happy with what I am doing. So, I thanked him. We didn’t talk much; I just said ‘hi’ to him and he told me that he was happy for me.”
Jose Mourinho, who has often been criticized for selling the likes of Mohamed Salah and Kevin De Bruyne, also defended himself. The former Chelsea manager insisted that he was the one who signed Salah and he only loaned him out because the player did not have the patience to wait for his chances.
The recently sacked former Roma manager said:
“People say that I was the one that sold Salah and it is the opposite. I bought Salah. But he came as a young kid, physically he was not ready, mentally he was not ready, socially and culturally he was lost and everything was tough for him. We decided to put him on loan and he asked for that as well. He wanted to play more minutes, to mature, he wanted to go and we sent him on loan to Fiorentina, and at Fiorentina, he started to mature. Chelsea decided to sell him, OK? And when they say that I was the one that sold him it is a lie. I bought him. I agreed to send him on loan, I thought it was necessary.”
He added:
“When people say ‘you let Salah go’, I say exactly the opposite. I bought Salah. I was the one that said ‘buy that guy’. He was going from Basel to Liverpool, and I made a fight. I made a war to make him come to Chelsea. Then comes the part to be a Chelsea player, you need to perform or have to wait. He didn’t want to wait and wanted to go on loan and then Chelsea at a certain point decided to sell. That was not me.”
Salah has been exceptional for Liverpool since his £34.3 million move from AS Roma in 2017. The Egyptian has scored 204 goals and produced 88 assists in 332 games for Jurgen Klopp’s side to date.
Journalist makes huge claim on the future of Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah as the former Chelsea star’s future is under speculation
German journalist Christian Falk has claimed that Liverpool are ready to let Mohamed Salah depart on a free in the summer of 2025 rather than selling him to Saudi Arabia this summer. The Egyptian superstar has been the subject of interest from the Saudi Pro League, with Al-Ittihad offering £150 million for his services last summer.
It has been widely reported that the Saudi Pro League will be returning with offers for the Premier League superstar once again this summer. However, as per Falk, the Reds will keep Salah for another year and let him depart for free rather than selling him for big money this summer.
Falk said, as quoted by TBR Football:
“Mo Salah might go to Saudi Arabia. In the summer there was an offer, but Liverpool are still not sure whether to let their superstar go. I’ve heard that Liverpool can even imagine letting him go on a free transfer as they’ve already made their money back from what they paid Roma for him.”
Mohamed Salah has done exceptionally since arriving at Liverpool in a £34.3 million deal from AS Roma in 2017. The Egyptian superstar has scored 204 goals and produced 88 assists in 332 games for Jurgen Klopp’s side, etching his name as one of the greatest to play for the club.
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