Mohamed Salah in an interview with “AS”: I am one of the best players in the world

The Egyptian international Mohamed Salah, the Liverpool star, spoke about his future ambitions with the Reds, the possibility of signing for Barcelona or Real Madrid in the future, his vision of what he achieved in recent years, and his assessment of what Messi and Ronaldo did in football.

The Spanish newspaper “AS” had a long interview with the Egyptian international, Mohamed Salah, the Liverpool star, in which he summarized the following questions.

First, it is an honor to have you in your first interview with us, how are you?

Thanks, I’m fine, thanks for the invitation..

What a great game you played against Tottenham!

Yes, it was a good game, it is always difficult to play against Tottenham, but we won at the end of the game, and that is what matters..

Do you think Liverpool is a candidate for the Premier League title?

I think it’s a bit early to talk about it, but yes, we are playing well and the other teams are playing well, so I hope we have a better chance of winning the Premier League.

What do you think of José Mourinho?

I have worked with him before, he is a great coach, he helped the players a lot to be where they are now, Mourinho has a very good vision of football, he is a great coach, I am sure they are doing a good job, now they are in the league and that’s what I can say about them..

Do you think you can win the Golden Boot for the third time in the Premier League?

I don’t know, I don’t want to say this at the moment, I definitely always try to score goals to help the team win, and I have a great chance to be the scorer for the third time as you say, but the most important thing is to win a great title with him. team..

What are the remaining records you are looking to break in the future?

I’m trying to break all the club records, okay, but like I said, the team is first before any record, but breaking records and winning matches is great too..

How do you see facing Leipzig in the knockout stages of the Champions League?

I think we have done well in the Champions League and also in the Premier League in recent seasons. We have great chances to crown both championships. We were unlucky here last season, but this year we will fight for both titles.

Tell us your memories of winning the Champions League at Wanda Metropolitano.

It’s a good memory, it was our second consecutive final, I was injured in the first final, but we won in the second final, it was a great feeling, it is one of the most important moments of my life..

Was it difficult to accept the defeat against Atlético de Madrid in the Champions League last season? Do you want to avenge this defeat?

I don’t think of games this way, I don’t think we should play against them because they beat us last season, we have to go game after game and focus only on the next game, sure if we play against them again it would be a good thing, yeah you want to win the tournament, then you should. Defeat all opponents, so we have to fight to win all matches..

Do you rule out playing for Real Madrid or Barcelona in the future?

I think Real Madrid and Barcelona are top-tier clubs, who knows what might happen in the future, but I’m focusing only now on getting back to the Premier League and the Champions League crowns with Liverpool..

How long will we see you playing for Liverpool?

Mohamed Salah replied with a laugh, this is a difficult question, but I can say that now everything is in the hands of the club. I definitely want to break records here, and I repeat, break all records with the club, but everything is in the hands of the club’s management..

In the last game of the Champions League, you were going to look like the captaincy of Liverpool … How did you look at it?

In fact, I was very disappointed, I expected to show off the captaincy, but that is the coach’s decision, and I accept it..

Do you think you are stronger now compared to what happened to Real Madrid in the Champions League final that Sergio Ramos hit you?

I think that everything that happens to any player, like disappointment or things like that, makes you stronger in your march towards the future, but that injury is subject and it’s over for me, I don’t think about that at all..

Who do you think will succeed Ronaldo and Messi in the future?

It is difficult to determine a player, now there are great players, but what Messi and Ronaldo did in the world of football was incredible, surely the fans will remember my name, but I think what they did in football was incredible, and now there are players which I think they play perfectly too..

Do you see yourself as one of the best players of the moment?

Yes, of course, when I look back on my career I want to feel that I have achieved something special, that’s why I try to do my best in every game and year for the club and for myself too.

Given your childhood and where you came from … did you ever expect to be a star like you are today?

I did not expect to be where I am now, it is difficult to anticipate this from the beginning, I am walking step by step, when I was in Egypt, I only trained to play in Europe, and then I joined Basel, and I said at the time that I wanted to play in a biggest club, Basel. A good team, but I wanted to join a bigger team, I always walk step by step, when I joined Basel, I told myself that I wanted to be the best player in their history, so you take a step, followed by another, I think it was a hard time but it made me stronger.

From the point of view, what is the most difficult thing in the life of a footballer?

The player must sacrifice many things, and dedicate his whole life to football, this is one of the things we face, it is very difficult because you sacrifice your life for football, and it was also difficult for me to change my mindset and some things in my life, this cost me time and effort. , At first it was a bit difficult, but now I can handle situations and overcome them easily.

How do you see the impact of the Corona virus on everyone?

I think it was difficult for everyone from the beginning, but it is something we have to adapt to and live with until it ends, I hope it ends soon, but we must maintain social distancing, and as celebrities we have to set an example, we must tell people keep going. On the right track and follow the instructions of the doctors because the situation is difficult for everyone, but we hope that this virus will disappear quickly..

Sure, a lot of kids want to be with professional players … Did you want that too?

Yes, I wanted to be a footballer when I was a child, I loved it very much, now the public sees that one of them, one of the Egyptians, has become famous and reached this level, I think they all want their children to become players, But I always say It’s not just football, we have many things you can be good at, like being a doctor or whatever you want to be, you can also reach the highest level, but for me yes, when I was a child my dream was to be footballer, that’s it. I just wanted him, the whole world and all the children of Egypt and Africa love to play football..

If you weren’t a footballer, what would you be?

It’s difficult, I used to play ball when I was 10 or 11 years old, I spent my whole life being a footballer, I really don’t know what I could do differently … it’s very difficult, and I didn’t think much about it either. I go to the club and I come back, and when I was 14 I was traveling to Cairo and coming back to my hometown, that’s why my whole life was football, I really don’t know what else I could have done..

How did you deal with the news of Maradona’s death recently?

It was sad news for everyone, we noticed that the whole world was shocked, and everyone felt sad, Maradona was an inspiration for most of the footballers, and perhaps for all the players, he did something special in Naples and with the Argentine team, It’s sad to hear the news of her death, and I just hope her family feels better after a while, I really don’t know what to say in this case, but it was very sad news.

How do you see Spain in the nations of Europe?

–I think Spain has a good team. In fact, Spain has the best players, and they can win the European nations again. It’s been a while since they won the title, but I think they have a good team, and they have a good chance of being crowned champions..

Regarding the African Cup of Nations … How do you see the Egyptian team? Do you think it is developing?

I think our team is good, accompanied by the new coach, Captain Hossam El-Badry. We have almost qualified for the African Cup of Nations, which we have not won for almost 10 years, everyone is excited to crown it again, in fact we want to crown it for the good of the public and for ourselves, we will see what happens, But I think that there is an improvement with the new coach and this group of players, we are playing well and there is a good relationship between everyone, we hope to win this cup this time..

It has always been associated with social and educational problems in Egypt. what does this mean to you?

I think education is the key to everything, with education you can become a soccer player and a better person in general, in my country, Egypt, I believe that some things can be changed with education for the better.