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Champions League final:11 things you need to know about Mohamed Salah

By Mutala Yakubu
Mo_salah
Salah's form at club level has been every bit as impressive as it has in internationals
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Egyptian and Liverpool forward Mohammed Salah has enjoyed one of the finest years in his career in 2017 winning the BBC African Footballer of the Year and the CAF African Footballer of the Year awards.

The Egyptian god will be one of the biggest threat Real Madrid will face today as both clubs go head-to-head in the final of the UEFA Champions League today.

Mohammed Salah who scored 32 goals in the English Premier League where he emerged top scorer has 43 goals in all competitions.

Mohammed Salah has 10 goals in the UEFA Champions League and Liverpool will be counting on his brilliance tonigt.

Here are 11 things you need to know about the current best player on the African Continent.

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1. Mohamed Salah was born on June 15, 1992 in Basyoun, a city to the north of Cairo. He followed European football when he was young and his boyhood idols were Zinedine Zidane and Luis Figo.

2. Mohammed Salah began his career in the youth team of El Mokawloon. As a youngster he was always picked at full-back but one episode convinced his coach to play him up front. His team had just won an important encounter 4-0 but rather than celebrating, Salah was actually in tears because he hadn't managed to get on the scoresheet. Once the coach realized how passionate he was about scoring goals, he moved him forward and steered his career down a different path in the process.

3. His debut in the Egyptian top tier came in March 2010 and the following season he was promoted to the first team, scoring his first league goal in December 2010. By 2011-12, he had become a regular starter, but following the death of 74 fans in the Port Said stadium disaster and the Egyptian Revolution, the national championship was suspended.

4. With competitive club matches suspended, the opportunity to put himself in the shop window came along thanks to a friendly organized by FC Basel against the Egyptian U23 national team in March 2012. Salah came on in the second-half and netted twice, gifting his side a 4-3 victory. A month later, the Swiss club came calling with a four-year contract.

5. In 2012-13, he played a starring role as Basel won the league. He was voted Most Valuable Player in the Swiss Super League and also won the Swiss Golden Player award.

6.The story behind his transfer to Chelsea is similar to how he arrived in Switzerland in the first place. He played against his future club for Basel in the semi-finals of the 2012-13 Europa League and even scored the goal that put the Swiss outfit momentarily ahead at Stamford Bridge - the match ended up 3-1 to the hosts. In the following season, Salah hit the back of the net both home and away against Chelsea in the Champions League group stages, helping his team to two unexpected victories.

7.On transfer deadline, 2 February 2015, Chelsea confirmed that Mohammed Salah would play for the Italian club Fiorentina on 18-month loan until the end of the 2015–16 season, as part of a transfer deal which saw Juan Cuadrado moving in the opposite direction.

8.On 6 August 2015, Salah joined Roma on a season-long loan for €5 million with the option to make the deal permanent.On 3 August 2016, Roma made the deal permanent.

9.On 22 June 2017, Mohammed Salah agreed a transfer to Liverpool. He signed a long-term contract with the Reds for an initial €42m fee that could rise up to €50m. He has scored 17 goals in the English Premier League this season.

10. Mohammed Salah was the top scorer for Egypt with five goals during the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, including both goals in the decisive 2–1 victory over Congo, one of which was a penalty in the last minute to make the Pharaohs reach their first World Cup finals since 1990.

11. Mohammed Salah won the BBC African Footballer of the Year 2017 and is the first Egyptian to win the CAF African Footballer of the year 2017.

Read also:Check out the full list of winners at the 2017 CAF Awards

 

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