The day Mohamed Salah hangs up his boots, it might strike the Liverpool legend how many legends of the game he has played with in his illustrious career.
At Liverpool in particular, the Egyptian superstar has played with a number of players who will be idolised for years to come.
Virgil van Dijk is a Premier League great who perhaps stands out amongst all of his teammates at Anfield, who has a case for being one of the best centre-backs to have ever graced the game,
Mohamed Salah has also had the privilege of playing alongside Alisson Becker, who is arguably the greatest goalkeeper to have played on English shores.
While Trent Alexander-Arnold is just 26, many would mention his name alongside Kyle Walker and Gary Neville as the league’s standout right-back in its history.
The same applies to Andy Robertson, who can perhaps be put on the same pedestal as the likes of Ashley Cole and Denis Irwin.
But perhaps the biggest name Salah has played with in his career is Francesco Totti.
Before making a move to Liverpool, the 32-year-old had the chance to train and play with Totti at AS Roma, who is not just one of Italy’s greatest players but up there amongst one of the best in the history of the game.
Mohamed Salah names Francesco Totti as one of his “idols”
In a latest interview, Salah has named Francesco Totti as one of his biggest inspirations.
The Liverpool winger said via Optus Sport: “Oh, the legend, yeah, Totti. One of my idols. I had the pleasure to play alongside him, is an incredible player, I didn’t play with him in his peak but you can see how much quality he has.”
“I played with him, I think, [when Totti was] 37, 38 but his touch is incredible, the way he reads the game is incredible.”
Salah feels that the way Francesco Totti was worshipped in the city of Rome and how much of a say he had on how Roma were run is incomparable to any other player he has ever seen.
“As a human being also, was a very, very good guy so nobody will be a club’s king like Totti. Never saw someone in my life have that much control and love in the city or on the club like him.”
What was Mohamed Salah and Totti’s record together?
Considering Jamie Carragher reckons Salah could surpass Steven Gerrard, it is nice to see such a megastar still being in awe of a footballing legend like Francesco Totti.
Salah backs himself as a lethal finisher but perhaps one of the reasons why that is the case is because he would have studied how Totti strikes a ball in training and on the pitch.
The pair played with each other 28 times at Roma.
| MOHAMED SALAH AND FRANCESCO TOTTI RECORD AT ROMA | |
| APPEARANCES | 28 |
| WINS | 18 |
| LOSSES | 4 |
| DRAWS | 6 |
| SALAH’S GOALS ASSISTED BY TOTTI | 2 |
| TOTTI’S GOALS ASSISTED BY SALAH | – |
In these 28 games, Salah and Totti won 18, lost four and drew six.
Two of the former’s goals were assisted by the latter and in another life, one of the Reds hero’s biggest dreams would be to play with him again.
