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A picture, they say, is worth a thousand words.
And after much was written and talked about about Mohamed Salah during a busy weekend for the Liverpool forward, it only took one social media post in a timely manner to deliver the perfect answer.
From his coach Jurgen Klopp to idol Mohamed Aboutrika, Salah’s mood was the hot topic over the weekend.
Even the player himself felt chatty, with a rare interview published by Spanish publication AS that was broadcast live on Saturday morning.
Salah covered a variety of topics throughout the interview, from his desire to, as he put it, “break every record in the club” to a hint that he would like to extend his stay with a new contract.
The former Roma player expressed his disappointment at not receiving the captain’s armband in the recent draw with Midtjylland in the Champions League.
Instead, Klopp chose to make the childhood dream of longtime Reds fan Trent Alexander-Arnold come true with the captaincy on a dead rubber.
Unsurprisingly, given the origin of the post, Barcelona and Real Madrid were also talked about, and the Reds leader gave a diplomatic response to ties with a large money transfer to La Liga.
“I think Madrid and Barcelona are top clubs,” he said. “We never know what is going to happen in the future, but right now I am focused on winning the Premier League and the Champions League again with my club.”
Ties to two of the biggest clubs in the world come with the territory of being a world-class footballer and Liverpool fans shouldn’t be too scared that Salah is walking the same path as those of Luis Suárez or Xabi Alonso.
Klopp certainly didn’t seem overly concerned when asked about it moments after Salah’s two goals had helped them beat Crystal Palace 7-0 at Selhurst Park.
“I have nothing to say,” Klopp said. “All good from me.”
However, quotes attributed to Egyptian legend Aboutrika on Sunday night altered some feathers when they appeared online.
The legendary former leader of Egypt was quoted as telling beIN Sport: “I called Salah about his situation in Liverpool and he is upset.
“Salah is not happy in Liverpool. One of the things that angered Salah was that he was not the captain against Midtjylland.
“In my opinion, Liverpool are considering selling Salah for financial reasons.”
However, a closer inspection reveals that those comments are the work of smoke and mirrors, to some extent.
Lost in translation, perhaps?
ECHO tried to find out more about the comments and the context in which they were presented.
What Aboutrika said during the coverage was actually: “In my personal opinion, and I could be wrong, her happiness after the [Palace] game, I feel he did not feel much happiness, the same with the Tottenham game.
“He did an interview after the Midtjylland game in which he expressed that he wanted to be captain, but respects the coach’s decision.
“It is good to be a captain and put on your CV that you have been a captain. It’s good for an Arab to be the captain of a club like Liverpool.
“He has scored so many goals with Liverpool that he is a star, the club should frame him [on the wall]. Salah must channel his energy towards Klopp and not contain it.
“The evidence you can see suggests that he’s not happy, but that doesn’t mean he wants him to go, no.
“I want him to stay and be comfortable and be pampered because he is a star.”
Aboutrika, who made 100 appearances for Egypt over a 13-year career for the pharaohs, is one of the most famous athletes from his homeland.
He shares a close relationship with Salah, but did not claim to have spoken to his friend about the recent events during the broadcast.
Aboutrika had also been claimed to have said Liverpool would sell Salah for financial reasons, but his comments were not as straightforward as that.
Another translation of that section of the discussion suggests that Aboutrika said: “He knows himself and his situation better than anyone. He knows what the club is like. Now he is also playing for a great club, which has a great project and a great coach.
“The other projects in Europe have not yet started. Barcelona is still rebuilding. Real Madrid have many stars and a transition phase in which they will buy more players has not yet started, probably at the beginning of next season.
“We really shouldn’t rush. He’s a great player and knows what’s best for him. Changing clubs is not easy for Salah. He’s an expensive player. It would cost more than 150 million euros, so who can afford it today? Besides to convince Liverpool to let him go?
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Salah will one day leave Liverpool. But there’s no suggestion that it’s going to be anytime soon and anything that suggests you’re unhappy, at this stage seems to create issues with a transfer window on the horizon.
As the talk continued to rage about Salah, his level of happiness, and what might happen next for the Liverpool superstar, the 28-year-old interrupted all the bragging in style.
A simple, smiling selfie was strategically uploaded to her large following on social media Monday morning, drowning out chatter and speculation in the process.
But if an image can sometimes say a thousand words, it only needed to say five; Mohamed Salah is a happy man.
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