Salah hasn’t stopped scoring since the day he walked into Anfield. Klopp reckons some players might have lit a cigar after that kind of entrance, but not the Egyptian
Get the FREE Mirror Football newsletter by email with the day’s key headlines and transfer news
Jurgen Klopp has revealed Mo Salah’s stellar career has gone into orbit because he’s been “greedy” to be the best.
Egyptian strike-king Salah is closing in on 100 Liverpool goals as he returns to former club Chelsea today in red-hot form after an opening day match-winning hat-trick against Leeds.
Salah’s not stopped scoring since the day he walked into Anfield from Roma and posted 44 goals in his first season.
But Salah remains successful, says the German, because he’s taken ownership of his potential – and refuses to take his foot off the gas.
And while he’s amazed at Salah’s 97 goals in just three seasons at Anfield – Ian Rush territory – Klopp isn’t at all surprised how his 28-year-old striker still stays at the top.
It has been a hectic and unique transfer window so far – so make sure you don’t miss a single thing by signing up for the brilliant new Mirror Football newsletter!
You’ll been clued up on Jadon Sancho, Declan Rice and more as clubs buy their way through the summer. All the latest transfer news and big stories will land straight into your inbox. You won’t miss out.
To sign up, put your email at the top of this article or follow the instructions on this link.
“First and foremost that’s down to Mo not me. He deserves credit for that. A lot of things we do as a team help him be the player he can be, that’s true and he knows that” says the Kop boss.
“But apart from that you have to have a specific personality to invest so much in your career and by the way, he’s not the only one doing that in our squad.
“When you score 44 goals in your first season quite a few players would say ‘okay, that was nice’ and now let’s think about other things.
“Like how we can make life even more beautiful ? Not life on the pitch but the other parts of life – but Mo is exactly the opposite.
“He stayed greedy. He stayed very determined. His work rate around the games is exceptional. So he is super-professional.
“That’s the truth and if you would write a book about how to stay successful, the training and the things he is doing in the game – that’s one key.
“All players do what you tell them but it’s about how important you see it yourself and that gives you a completely different mindset on all the stuff.
“Where do you go, where do you find a striker who has played four years for a club having these kind of numbers? There are not a lot in the world in this moment.
“The numbers are just incredible. That’s true and I was really happy with him for the Leeds game.
“If you didn’t see the it you might think two penalties and a goal ‘okay, that’s nice’. But if you did see it it was a three goal performance even more. A good start and long may it continue.”
Salah’s being helped in his drive for glory by the friendly competitive rivalry of fellow strikers Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino.
And although former star and TV pundit Jamie Carragher suggested Salah may be under-appreciated by some Kop fans, Klopp doesn’t agree.
“I think the Liverpool supporters know exactly what we have with Salah. I don’t know how the public actually sees Mo Salah, they may have different views than me but I don’t see that.
“Like everyone else here we expect that he works his socks off in each session. But that doesn’t mean we don’t appreciate 100% what we have from him and that’s exactly the same with the other players.
“We expect them to do their best and that’s what they deliver. Sometimes they score and sometimes not.
“But the story this team wrote together is that they constantly push each other and their appreciation between each other couldn’t be bigger. They like playing together and really respect each other.”
* Sign up to the Mirror Football email here for the latest news and transfer gossip
