Jurgen Klopp has described Mohamed Salah as one of the greatest Liverpool players ever and believes the forward’s records will be unmatched.
Salah announced this week that he will leave Liverpool at the end of the season after nine years at the club in which he has become their third highest goalscorer behind Ian Rush and Roger Hunt.
The 33-year-old has won the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup at Anfield with the majority of his success coming under former manager Klopp, who signed the forward and believes he is an all-time great.
“He’s right up there,” said Klopp, back in Liverpool for Saturday’s charity match at Anfield when Liverpool Legends face Borussia Dortmund Legends.
“I cannot compare with others really, only with the people and players I worked together with. But in my time, and since I’m really following or working for Liverpool, he’s definitely up there with the greatest.
“But I don’t have to say that because you read the numbers, you know already there’s something special.”
Salah has scored 255 goals and provided 119 assists in 435 appearances at Liverpool.
Klopp said: “The numbers he produced, the standards he set, I think some of them, if not all, will stay unmatched. In this modern Premier League era, definitely, because it’s just ridiculous to do that
“He helped the team to be very, very successful. He was successful himself, which is rare in this sport, but as a striker you have to take criticism.
“To deal with all that and to stay by yourself, to stay yourself, is really tricky, and he did that in exceptional ways. He’s one of the best professionals I’ve ever met, one of the best people I’ve ever met.
“We texted the other day and we had our arguments, but it was always for the right reasons, and it’s always fine, and especially now looking back, it’s more than fine.
“We are both really happy about being part of that incredible journey. An all-time great, definitely, without a shadow of a doubt.”
Salah will become a free agent at the end of the season and his agent has said he does not know where the forward will be playing next season, although there are multiple Saudi Arabian clubs that want to sign him this summer.
“I would not be surprised if he plays another six or seven years, to be honest,” added Klopp.
“He is an incredible professional, he set completely new standards for a professional football player, how hard you can work, how much you can invest in recovery and everything, if something came up, he got all the information about it, and then he had it the next day, and if it was not good, he threw it away again.”
Robertson: King Kenny pips Salah as Liverpool’s best
Andy Robertson said Salah will leave as one of Liverpool’s greatest players but reckons Sir Kenny Dalglish pips his team-mate to the prize of being the club’s best.
Salah announced he is leaving Liverpool earlier this week after reaching an agreement to end his contract a year early. The forward will be a free agent when he moves on.
Robertson’s social media post suggested the Egyptian was “the greatest” – but he clarified his position on international duty, placing a Scotland and Liverpool great ahead of his friend.
“I think [Salah’s] definitely one of the greatest,” said Robertson, asked if Dalglish had been in touch after his post.
“I would say Kenny probably pips him to that and I tell him that most days. For me, Kenny’s the greatest player of all time for Scotland and he’s the greatest player of all time for Liverpool.
“Behind that, you have three or four players that come into conversation of who’s there and Mo Salah definitely comes into that conversation.
“It’s just an absolute credit to him to be in even the conversation with Kenny Dalglish, Steven Gerrard, Ian Rush, people like that. For Mo to be in that same sentence is an absolute credit to him for what he’s done over these last nine years.”
Robertson says he supports Salah’s decision to move on from Anfield nine years after they both joined in the summer of 2017.
“To be able to call him a team-mate but also call him a friend, and he’s been a close friend of mine for the last nine years, it’s an absolute privilege to have played with him,” said Robertson.
“It’ll be sad, obviously, the next couple of weeks of his farewell, but he’ll get the send-off he deserves because he’s a Premier League legend, but he’s definitely a Liverpool legend.”
