Back in 2019, Mohamed Salah had yet to win the Premier League title. That said, he had established himself as one of Liverpool's best players following his 2017 arrival from Roma.
Fast-forward to 2026, and the Egyptian is set to leave Anfield as one of the club's all-time greats. With two league titles under his belt, not to mention 255 goals, the Champions League and a collection of other notable team and individual honours, Salah will depart as a true legend.
It's interesting, then, to look back over his time in England and see how the winger has been perceived during his spell at Liverpool. While few have doubted his talent, there were those who seemed to have some questions about his commitment to the Reds.
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Gary Neville Clashed With Jamie Carragher Over Salah Prediction
gary neville jamie carragher sky sports
Ahead of the 2019/20 season, pundits Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher had a heated debate about the upcoming campaign. Speaking on Sky Sports, they clashed over a number of topics.
Indeed, Neville claimed that his former club Manchester United would be more likely to win the league again before Liverpool achieved the feat. He got that one massively wrong as the Reds went on to lift the Premier League.
He also made another bold call about Salah. It's not that he had no faith in the Egyptian, but rather he didn't think he'd want to hang around at Anfield. Neville explained:
"Salah's going to leave in the next 12 months, I can see it already. Salah will leave, he will, I can absolutely guarantee it. I can see it, you [Carragher] can feel it, you can smell it, you know it."
His comments sparked an angry reaction from Carragher, who protested the claim and accused the former English right-back of being obsessed with Liverpool.
Salah Silenced Neville Over Liverpool 'Stepping Stone' Claims
Liverpool's Mohamed Salah celebrates scoring against Qarabag
Neville's claims made plenty of headlines at the time, sparking some doubt over Salah's future. The Liverpool winger, however, responded firmly as he pledged his commitment to the Reds in no uncertain terms.
Indeed, in August of the same year, he told CNN:
“I’m happy at Liverpool. I’m happy in the city. I love the fans and they love me. I’m happy at the club.”
Salah then did his talking on the pitch, as he fired the Reds to their first-ever Premier League title. Despite that, Neville later opted to double down on his claims. Speaking in February 2020, with Liverpool 22 points clear at the top of the table, he said:
"I think it's a little bit more simple in the sense of why Liverpool fans maybe don't demonstrate that love for Salah, and it's affinity and loyalty. I think there's a feeling that he wants to go and play at Real Madrid, he'll go to Barcelona, he'll take the big move.
"That's not a criticism of Mo Salah. I played with David Beckham, I played with Ruud van Nistelrooy, played with Cristiano Ronaldo - they wanted to aspire to win the Ballon d'Or, they wanted to be at Real Madrid, they wanted to be up in lights and play at the biggest clubs in the world."
He added:
"I think he is ultimately using Liverpool potentially as a stepping stone for his career. He has aspirations to be [playing at a higher level]. Let's be honest, Real Madrid and Barcelona for a lot of players are the pinnacle."
Salah has certainly made those comments look very silly. The Egyptian will now depart Anfield this summer after nine years with the English club. He never seemingly came close to joining either Real Madrid or Barcelona, and has spent the peak years of his career committed to Liverpool.