LONDON – Mohamed Salah has been named the Football Supporters’ Federation’s (FSF) Men’s Player of the Year for 2018, Liverpool FC reported.
“Thank you for this award, it means so much to me because it was voted for by supporters. Usually I share any awards with my teammates and all the staff at Liverpool, but on this occasion I would like also to dedicate it to the Liverpool fans for their incredible support. Thank you.” said the Reds’ No.11.
The Liverpool forward was announced as the winner of a fans’ poll that attracted more than 366,000 votes during a ceremony in London, UK on December 3.
Salah topped a six-man shortlist that also included his teammate Virgil van Dijk, Manchester City duo Sergio Aguero and Raheem Sterling, Eden Hazard of Chelsea and Leicester City’s Harry Maguire.
The Egyptian player’s phenomenal form since joining the Reds in the summer of 2017 has led to him receiving a lengthy list of individual accolades, including the PFA Players’ Player of the Year, and FWA Football Writers’ Footballer of the Year for 2017-18. He is also the reigning CAF African Player of the Year.
Salah is the third Liverpool player to be named FSF Men’s Player of the Year since its inception in 2013. Luis Suarez was the inaugural winner, while Philippe Coutinho received the prize in 2016.
The Muslim footballer is considered the world’s fourth most expensive player from a transfer value perspective by the CIES. Salah started his senior career with El Mokawloon club in the Egyptian Premier League in 2010, departing shortly thereafter to join FC Basel of Switzerland for an undisclosed fee.
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In Switzerland, he won the league and the SAFP Golden Player Award. Salah’s performances then attracted Premier League side Chelsea, and he joined the club for a £11 million fee in 2014. Then, he was allowed to leave on loan to Serie A clubs Fiorentina and Roma.
Following consistent match-winning performances in Rome to lead them to second-placed finish and a record points-tally in 2017, Salah relocated back to the Premier League to sign for Liverpool for a then club-record fee of £36.9 million.
He broke the club’s scoring record for a debut season, receiving the Premier League Golden Boot after registering a record 32 goals in 36 league games. He also became the first player to win three Premier League Player of the Month awards in the same season. Moreover, he came third in the award for the 2018 Best FIFA Men’s Player.
With the national teams of his motherland, Salah represented Egypt at youth level, winning a bronze medal in the Africa U-20 Cup of Nations, and participated in the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup and the 2012 Summer Olympics.
He was awarded the CAF Most Promising African Talent of the Year in 2012. Making his debut with the senior national team in 2011, he helped Egypt reach the final of the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations, and he became the top scorer during CAF qualification to help the team qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.