Mohamed Salah has reflected on his challenging stint at Chelsea as a defining moment in his career, crediting it with instilling the mindset that has propelled him to stardom at Liverpool.
As he nears his 33rd birthday, the Premier League’s leading scorer also sees himself as a guiding light in Arne Slot’s youthful squad. In an intimate look at his journey in a new ‘Premier League Originals’ documentary, Salah delves into his early struggles after joining Chelsea in 2014 at the tender age of 21, where he found game time scarce under manager Jose Mourinho.
With only 13 Premier League appearances for Chelsea, Salah was loaned out to Fiorentina, which eventually led to a successful transfer to Roma. Salah has now opened up about how pivotal his experience at Stamford Bridge was in shaping his illustrious tenure at Anfield.
“I still also say this is the most important period of my life, when I went to Chelsea,” Salah said, as quoted by Liverpool ECHO.
“Because when I started to struggle there I was like, ‘Okay, so now what? Are you going to be an average player or do you want to be a really good player?’
“It was a key point for me, I started to read a lot and watch a lot of videos on YouTube to help me also change how I behave, how my mentality (is) and everything.
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“I felt at that time I just wanted to change the whole culture because the English media, at that time, was just too much. So I just wanted to go out (leave Chelsea) and be like, ‘Okay, forget me now.'”
However, with experience, his perspective has shifted, and he now prioritises teamwork and adapting to his colleagues’ playing styles.
Salah explained: “I see it a different way now as I’m more experienced, I am one of the senior players in the group so you have to care not just in the field but I work with everyone every single day and also work mentally just to stay focused and stay calm.
“In the past I used to just know my game and they needed to adapt to me.
“If you want to improve you need to adapt to know their game as well, so I study big games, I watch the players most of the time when they train, when they play, I go home and watch them as well, to also improve my game somehow.
“I know how much it means to the city (to win the league), I really waned to win it with the fans and celebrate it with everyone in the city and have that experience.
“I have my legacy at the club anyway, but the thing is, in my head now, I just wanted to win the Premier League now, whatever it takes.”
With 28 league goals this season, Salah is on track to claim his fourth Golden Boot.
