Liverpool signed Mohamed Salah from Roma in June 2017 for £39million - but only after then-manager Jurgen Klopp was persuaded against opting for a different player
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Updated 19:11, 03 Apr 2025
Mohamed Salah new signing for Liverpool
Mohamed Salah signed for Liverpool in June 2017(Image: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Mohamed Salah has been one of the best transfers in Liverpool’s history, but he wouldn’t have even ended up at Anfield if Jurgen Klopp had got his way. Salah is now known as “the Egyptian King” in the red half of Merseyside, having established himself as one of the greatest forwards the club has ever seen.
Yet, back in the summer of 2017, there was plenty of uncertainty about him. Then 25 years old, he had managed to make just six Premier League starts for Chelsea following an £11million move from Basel. The Blues loaned him out to Fiorentina and Roma, and the latter then signed him permanently in 2016.
Liverpool forked out £39m to sign him from Roma in June 2017 and the rest is history: 243 goals and 109 assists in 393 appearances and successes in the Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup and Fifa Club World Cup.
Klopp hailed Salah as the “perfect mix of experience and potential” upon getting the deal over the line. But the Liverpool boss needed convincing by Liverpool’s data analysts, having initially favoured the signing of a fellow German that he knew much better.
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“Jurgen's preferred option for that summer was Julian Brandt, who was a great player,” former Liverpool director of research Ian Graham says in BBC Sport documentary How to Win the Champions League: Liverpool 2019. “Jurgen would obviously know him very well coming from the Bundesliga and knowing the German market very well.
“We agreed that Brandt was a very good young player but not a standout in the same way that Mo was. From our data analysis point of view, Mo was the best young wide forward in Europe full stop.
“Roma were under pressure to sell because their finances were not in a good place so we knew he was available for a good price. He played a forward and wide role that we needed to fill at the time whereas Brandt was more of an attacking midfielder."
Julian Brandt
Jurgen Klopp wanted to sign Julian Brandt(Image: Dave Shopland/REX/Shutterstock)
Graham added: “It's to Jurgen’s credit that he engaged in that debate in an honest way with his eyes open to say, ‘OK, I'm open to be convinced, show me that Mo is better’.” Brandt has enjoyed a solid career with Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund, but has not even come close to the heights that Salah has hit.
At the age of 32 he is enjoying his best ever season, with 32 goals and 22 assists under his belt after 44 matches across all competitions. A second Premier League title is incoming with Liverpool, too, with Arne Slot ’s side 12 points clear of Arsenal with eight games remaining.
How to win the Champions League: Liverpool 2019 is available on BBC iPlayer now and is on BBC One on Wednesday, 9 April at 11:40pm
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