Mohamed Salah vs Sadio Mane and other rivalries in football

Salah plays as a forward for Liverpool and the Egypt National Team. Let's have a look at some of the famous rivalries of Mohamed Salah.

Mohamed Salah in a file photo; Credit: Twitter/@LFC
By annirudh bhalla | May 4, 2022 | 4 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

‘The Egyptian King’, ‘The Pharaoh’ are a few nicknames that go on to describe Mohamed Salah. Considered one of the best players in the world, Salah plays as a forward for Liverpool and the Egypt National Team. Salah started his senior professional career with the Egyptian club, Al Mokawloon before departing for Europe to play for Basel in Switzerland. There, Salah won two league titles. Soon, Chelsea came calling in 2014 but limited game time led Salah to search elsewhere and it led him ultimately to Italy wherein he had successive loan spells to Fiorentina and later Roma. Due to his splendid performances at Roma, Liverpool caught his signature in 2017 making him the most expensive Egyptian footballer of all time. Since then, Salah has played at an elite level, scoring goals after goals, breaking records after records, and winning trophies after trophies.

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Playing style and achievements

Salah is best known for his finishing, pace and lightning quick instincts. Over the years, the Egyptian has developed his game focused more on being a clinical goalscorer. He is capable of playing in many positions in attack. The forward is also well renowned for being an expert from the penalty spot. All this has enabled him to not just operate as a winger but also in more central areas like the centre forward or as a second striker. Ever since joining Liverpool, individual honours have flooded for Salah. He has been the recipient of PFA Players’ Player of the Year in 2018, FIFA Puskas Award in 2018, Premier League Golden Boots in 2018 and 2019 as well as two African Footballer of the Year awards. Let’s have a look at some of the famous rivalries of Mohamed Salah.

Mohamed Salah vs Sadio Mane

Liverpool teammates since the 2017-18 season, Salah and Mane have been key parts of a very successful era for Liverpool. Main contributors in attack for the Merseyside club, the two wingers have drawn heated debates and comparisons with each other. Representing Africa in the biggest league in the world, it comes as no surprise that the two teammates have often been involved in matchups across the footballing world. During the final of the Africa Cup of Nations 2022 between Mane’s Senegal and Salah’s Egypt, the scene was set as the stage between two pillars of African football. Mane came out on top with a successful penalty in the shootout. Weeks later the two Liverpool men were once again up against each other for the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers and once again it was Mane who got the better of Salah as Senegal advanced, leaving Egypt in despair.

Mohamed Salah vs Eden Hazard

Mohamed Salah has been constantly compared to Eden Hazard especially since the Egyptian moved to Liverpool in 2017. The pair have been subject to constant comparison, especially because of the fact that Salah left Chelsea in 2015 while Eden Hazard became the main man at Stamford Bridge. While Hazard was still in the Premier League, both the stars were the face of the Premier League and hence were the topic of constant debates as to who is the better player. Mohamed Salah is considerably ahead when it comes to finishing but there is no doubt that the attacking system of Liverpool helps Salah in that aspect. Ever since Hazard’s move to Real Madrid, he has constantly struggled with injuries and lack of game time while the Egyptian has carried on his great form with Liverpool.

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Mohamed Salah vs Kevin De Bruyne

Mohamed Salah and Kevin De Bruyne are two footballers who have endured very similar career paths. Regarded initially as Premier League flops, both have fully taken the second opportunity to shine in England and have proved themselves amongst the best players in the world. Playing for rivals, Manchester City and Liverpool, both stars has been often the topic of intense media debate. Since Salah joined Liverpool, every season there has been a debate as to who is better between the two. As a midfielder, De Bruyne is a much more complete footballer while Salah has statistics that only a few in the world can match. The race between the two to be the best was closest during 2017/18 when both produced splendid performances. Salah ultimately won the best player of the season that year and the race again promises to be quite entertaining during the current Premier League season.