Liverpool icon Mohamed Salah's behaviour during a key clash almost left Jurgen Klopp welling up
Jurgen Klopp and Mo Salah
Jurgen Klopp and Mohamed Salah enjoyed a seven-year relationship at Anfield(Image: Getty Images)
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Mohamed Salah's display of selflessness nearly brought Jurgen Klopp to tears. During Liverpool's 5-1 thrashing of Arsenal in December 2018, the Reds were awarded a second penalty after the Egyptian had already converted a first.
While most anticipated Salah would take the spot-kick for a possible brace, the forward instead chose to hand the chance to Roberto Firmino who was chasing a hat-trick. The Brazilian converted the penalty in what marked his maiden treble for the club.
Salah - who confirmed earlier this week he's poised to depart Liverpool at the season's end - surprised the Anfield crowd with his generous act that nearly left Klopp overcome with emotion. The German told BBC Sport after the final whistle: "We knew in the second half that the game wasn't finished, so we wanted to control it.
"Mo Salah gave the penalty to Bobby [Firmino] and I almost cried because we all know how much Mo wants to score goals. It was really nice. Christmas is over but not between the boys!"
The Reds legend's generosity was followed by accusations of selfishness levelled at him by the likes of Gary Neville and Arsene Wenger later. This came after Liverpool's 4-1 victory over Leeds on the opening day in September 2020 - a match that saw Salah score his third Premier League hat-trick - was overshadowed by Neville highlighting the mental difference between the Egyptian and Sadio Mane.
Neville suggested that Salah might be less popular among his team-mates due to his tendency to shoot rather than pass in certain situations - a stark contrast to Mane's style of play, he said.
Neville said: "You think of the mentality difference between Mane and Salah. Mane is likeable, I think the players probably love him, he gives his all every single day, he'll do the selfless thing for the team."
Sadio Mane celebrates his goal with Mo Salah and Roberto Firmino
Roberto Firmino scored a hat-trick thanks to Mohamed Salah(Image: Liverpool Echo)
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"Then you look at Salah over on the other side. He doesn't pass sometimes to his team-mate, he'll be a little bit more selfish, a little bit less likeable because of that, probably by the fans, probably by some of his team-mates. But then I look at him as sort of an outsider as somebody looking at him thinking, 'He is an absolute killer on the pitch'."
It cam after Wenger had already shared his thoughts on Salah a year earlier, as the former Arsenal boss told beIN Sports: "He [Salah] has similarities with Messi. He must find the consistency of Messi. I find he's a good finisher but Messi has the complete thing, he gives the final ball as well."
Mohamed Salah of Liverpool talks with team mate Sadio Mane during the Premier League match between Liverpool and Brighton & Hove Albion at Anfield on October 30, 2021 in Liverpool, England.
The difference between Salah and Sadio Mane was previously discussed by Gary Neville(Image: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
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Wenger explained: "Salah is a bit obsessed with finishing himself. That's a dimension he'll get certainly, when he grows a little bit older, to find the moment when you have to give the ball and when you have to finish. But I like him very much, he has huge potential. Mane as well."
In his ninth and final season in Merseyside, Salah will be granted one of the grandest farewells in the club's history as the chance to secure his last pieces of silverware for the club remains. The Reds face Manchester City in the FA Cup quarter-finals and Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League last eight next month.
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