Mohamed Salah leaves Liverpool a bonafide legend -- with 257 goals (third highest in club history), 123 assists (93 in the Premier League, edging Steven Gerrard for the most in this era), two Premier League titles, one Champions League crown, four Golden Boots, three PFA Player's Player of the Year awards (the most ever) and memories (or scars, if you support a club that's borne the brunt of his genius) that no number can ever quite capture.
It may all have ended on a bitter note -- that social media post which slammed manager Arne Slot was pure theatre -- but over nine years at Anfield, he's cemented himself in not just Liverpool's but the Premier League's hall of fame.
Here we look back at five of his greatest moments for Liverpool...
Salah announces himself to Anfield, properly
Salah returned to a skeptical Premier League with much to prove after his entirely unnoteworthy spell at Chelsea. "I will give everything for the club. I am happy to be here," he said at the time of his announcement, before adding "and I really want to win something for this club." Prophetic words.
He scored on debut with a simple tap-in at Vicarage Road in a messy 3-3 draw against Watford. He scored what would eventually claim the Puskas Award as he equalised in the Merseyside derby with a wondergoal that would become his trademark: brushing past two defenders and curling a left footer into the top corner.
But it was his display against former side Roma in the Champions League semifinal first leg that year that announced to everyone, Liverpool fans included, that they were now watching a world class player. In a 5-2 Liverpool win, he scored twice, assisted twice and ran a very good Roma team ragged. The pick of his goal contributions saw him chip the ball over future teammate and fellow hall-of-famer Alisson Becker.
He ended that debut season with 44 goals (all competitions) and 16 assists: a very accurate prelude of what was to come.
Champions League final redemption
In that debut season, Salah seemed primed to bring back European glory to Anfield, a first Champions League crown since 2005, but Real Madrid, Sergio Ramos and a robust tackle had other ideas. A year later, they were back in the final, this time against high-flying Tottenham Hotspur.
With the heartbreak of the 97-point second-place season still hanging over their heads -- and that Salah injury in the last final -- it would have been understandable if Liverpool had been dispirited, a little nervous, felt the powers that be were against them, or wondered if they'd ever win a major trophy again. So, when Liverpool were awarded a penalty in the first minute of the game, it was important that they didn't mess it up.
Salah made sure they didn't. Sprinting at the ball he hammered it past Hugo Lloris and set Liverpool on course for their sixth European Cup. Divock Origi made it two very late on, but it was the Salah penalty that had done the trick. With pressure at its highest, Salah had stepped up and delivered: the definition of greatness.
"We're gonna win the league"
They'd not won the league for 30 years, and Liverpool fans refused to believe that 2019-20 would be any different... even if they were leading (and leading well) the fans refused to believe.
Then Manchester United came to Anfield. Virgil van Dijk scored the opener in the 14th minute, but United weathered an early storm and started putting pressure on the other end as Anfield turned into a bundle of nervousness. Then, in stoppage time, Alisson slammed a sensational long ball to the halfway line where Salah ran onto it. Allowing the ball to bounce, and the furiously backtracking Dan James to catch up, he remained the only calm person in the whole stadium as he raced through on goal, ignoring James as much as holding him off, and slotted home past David de Gea.
As the goal went in and he ripped off his shirt and showed off that perfectly sculpted form, the stadium roared with him, and then spontaneously burst out into "we're gonna win the league." For the first time, they showed belief... and it was their Egyptian king who had made them do it.
P.S. A special mention for Salah's record against the great rivals -- after not having scored in his first four appearances vs. Man United, he scored 16 league goals against them (more than anyone, ever) and became the first opposition player to score a hat-trick at Old Trafford in the Premier League era.
That City goal
You know the goal we're talking about, the goal that illustrated the quality of Liverpool vs. Manchester City, the quality of Jurgen Klopp vs. Pep Guardiola, more than any other.
It starts with him skipping past three blue shirts on the right wing, including a ball roll past Bernardo Silva that sent the City man sliding into another dimension. Racing into the box at full tilt now, he jinks one way then the other, that drop of a shoulder turning Aymeric Laporte inside out before racing on and lashing an unstoppable strike past two sliding City defenders and Ederson from an impossible angle. With his weaker foot.
Mo Salah magic against Man City �� pic.twitter.com/EO7zvAl0L4
- Premier League (@premierleague) August 26, 2022
That goal was Salah at the peak of his powers, marrying skill and genius and directness and effectiveness in a manner rarely seen before in the league. The final result (a draw) seems almost irrelevant in hindsight, such was the breathtaking nature of the magic on display.
Record breaking talisman
Last season, 2024-25, Salah was a one-man tour-de-force. Allowed to stay high and roam in the box by Arne Slot in the Dutchman's debut season, Salah repaid that freedom with a record-breaking season. He scored 29 goals and assisted a further 18 in the league as he broke the record for most goal involvements in a 38-game season (and equalled Alan Shearer and Andy Cole, both of whom had 47 G+A in 42-game and 40-game seasons respectively).
He won a record-equalling fourth Golden Boot (level with Thierry Henry) and an unprecedented third PFA Players' Player of the Year. More importantly for him, he also almost single-handedly won Liverpool their second title in the Premier League era.