Read beIN SPORTS’ Exclusive Interview with Mohamad Salah

On Friday 15 January, beIN SPORTS HD1 aired an exclusive interview with Egyptian and Liverpool star Mohamad Salah. CMOs magazine published the full interview for Salah’s fans as below.

[Announcer]: There have been many questions recently about Liverpool or Mohammed Salah’s situation in the club. Naturally, this season was different because of the Covid-19 pandemic, with many big clubs going a bit below their usual standard. This applied to Liverpool, which at the beginning of the first round lagged behind Everton and Tottenham in the race for the top spots. Do you think that was a result of the other clubs getting better, or was it the general situation that affected Liverpool before it progressed to advanced positions?

[Salah]: As you said, the Corona pandemic made things difficult and very much changed the situation. But some teams also win because playing without fans, whether on your pitch or away, affects you. All teams have equal opportunities to win matches. With this corona situation, people ask: Will the league be suspended? Will it continue? Things were really difficult, and now we’re back to a lockdown. So, nobody knows what to do, and this uncertainty is affecting all teams. This is my opinion. But at the end of the day, you go to the pitch and do your best. Some teams get luckier than others. Others do their best. I believe that all teams are close to each other in terms of standards this year. Every team win and lose. It’s still too early to say who will win the league, but I hope it’ll be us.

[Announcer]: For Liverpool to win the title, many things need to complement each other, like integration with Jürgen Klopp, integration with your teammates. But perhaps injuries affected Liverpool, just as they affected other teams, particularly the injury of Dutch international defender Virgil van Dijk. Do you think the injuries exhausted Liverpool, or are thing under control now?

[Salah]: Sure they had an impact. You lost two of your defenders. Joel was also injured before he returned. So you have three injured players. You get Fabinho to play in the back. This certainly affects you, especially that Virgil is one of the best defenders in the world. But at the end of the day, you have to handle the situation. If you want to win the league, you have to try to win all the matches. If you focus only on injuries, you will not win the title. But if you focus on what you have and try to deal with the situation in a different way, you may win the league.

[Announcer]: Perhaps staying on top requires that the injured players return to the pitch. Or do you think it requires scoring more goals in some matches or conceding fewer goals, as happened in the past season?

[Salah]: I think all of those together. I cannot specify only one of them. But unfortunately, our injured players will be absent for a long time. So you have to deal with the situation as it exists. You cannot change it. Virgil or Joel will not be back before four or five months. Maybe less, I am not sure. I don’t know exactly when, but this is what they say. Also, you need not to concede many goals. And you need to score more. So all these are important and interconnected factors. If players in the front are confident that no goals will be scored in the back, they feel better and find no reason to defend strongly and exhaust their efforts in defense. But ultimately, you must find the things that make you comfortable on the pitch and make your team win.

[Announcer]: One important thing that helps big teams overcome the problem of injuries is signing new contracts. Now there will be a winter transfer market for most clubs. The economic situation is certainly different this time, with many clubs negatively affected. But do you think Liverpool has plans to add new names?

[Salah]: This is not up to me. This is the decision of the coach and the club management. I don’t know what they are planning to do. But they are the ones who know the situation and know what the team needs. I cannot talk about this. Some young players in the team are doing well and making good progress. But of course, any addition of good or important players would greatly help the team. This, however, is not my decision, and I believe the coach is the best one to talk about this.

[Announcer]: There are some young players that are making a good addition, and there will also be other young ones in the future. Can Liverpool count on these to rebuild the team or use as plan B for the future? Do you personally support the young players? Do you encourage these names in Jürgen Klopp’s lineup?

[Salah]: Absolutely. When they play Champions League or Premier League games, they perform well and emerge as stars. This encourages them. The other players fully trust them and talk to them before and during matches. I fully support them, and I’m very happy with their performance to date. I hope they’ll continue in the same way. I wish they were there when Virgil and Joel were playing so that they could learn from them and add to their experience. But I certainly support them and hope they will keep up their good work.

[Announcer]: One of these young players is Jota, who is seen as a great addition to the team and whom Klopp used in a great way. He proved himself in a short time. Does Jota receive support from his teammates?

[Salah]: Yes of course. Relations among us as players is always good. Jota has been doing well since he came, and his goals helped the team win some matches. He was new, and players were supporting him and talking to him, ensuring he remained comfortable in the team. We are all playing for the team, and the number one team. We certainly miss him, but if one player is not present, another tries to cover and does his best to do it. I hope he will be back soon and, at the same time, that we win matches.

[Announcer]: We as people who follow football and attend most of the Premier League and Champions League games believe that rotation should also be the case with Liverpool. Perhaps the rotation process is somewhat under control with Jürgen Klopp, as it is with other Premier League coaches participating in the Champions League. Do you, as player, count on and encourage rotation, especially in cases of more than one competition taking place at the same time?

[Salah]: This is a very difficult question for me to answer. I want to play every minute I can play. But I cannot discuss this because it has to do with the tactic and viewpoint of the coach. But if you are asking me about my opinion, I like to play in every match, the full 90 minutes, and even 95 minutes. I want to play until the last second of the game. But at the end of the day, the coach decides, and the players respect his decision.

[Announcer]: Let’s talk about Arab players here in Europe. We watched you in the Italian League, especially with Fiorentina and Roma, considering the difference between the two. The goals that you scored for Fiorentina against some giant clubs raised your profile in the Serie A at that time. It was an outstanding football journey, and we are waiting to see other Arab players emerge as stars in European heavyweights. Apart from Egyptian players – your Egyptian fellow compatriots in England or Europe – do you have other relationships with Ziyech or Riyad Mahrez for example? Are you in touch with them?

[Salah]: Honestly, I am not personally in touch with them, but whenever I meet Mahrez in matches, we talk. I still have not met Ziyech because he just joined the league. I have a good relationship with Mahrez; we talk before or after each match that brings us together. The footballer with whom I have a very good relationship is Omar Al Somah. We talk from time to time. But here in the Premier League we don’t talk; no contacts or phone calls, but when we meet in matches, we sure talk.