with the trying voice of the emotional Egyptian match commentator in the background went viral. It was a special moment for the team and the Egyptian peopleEgypt had not made an appearance at the World Cup since 1990. But for the man of the moment, it was also just a teaser of what his ferocious spirit was capable of doing in the next eight months. During those eight months leading on to the final games of the season, the Liverpool supporters fell deeper in love with their exciting right-winger. He was scoring goals for fun in almost every game and setting up or assisting his other teammates' as well. Salah netted in 44 goals and 16 assists in 55 appearances for the club in all competitions. Thirty-two of those were scored in the EPL, which was the most scored by a player this season, earning him the Premier League Golden Boot. He also picked up three Premier League Player of the Month awards on the way to lifting the Professional Footballers' Association Player of the Year and Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year awards, the two highest individual honors in English football. 56
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Liverpool’s € 42 million investment into Salah was arguably the transfer bargain of the 2017-18 season. He was bought from A.S. Roma early into the summer transfer window in 2017. The transaction came during an inflated market where in that same window Paris Saint-Germain acquired Brazilian winger Neymar from FC Barcelona for a world record fee of € 222 million. Liverpool’s return on their investment has definitely paid off with his goal balance on a steady rise since his competitive debut for the Reds, when he scored two goals in a 3-3 draw at Watford. After a blistering debut season with Liverpool, many top clubs will be attempting to lure Salah during the summer transfer window, which opens on the 1st of July, to sign a contract with them. His market value has undoubtedly doubled by now. Maybe even tripled. Some say he might even be worth € 223 million. Many pundits and viewers agree that Salah is a sure name to be featured on the shortlist for the Ballon d'Or, the award for the world's best football player of the year. No player not named Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel
Messi has won that award in the past decade, each winning it five times. Talks of Salah possibly lifting the illustrious trophy himself certainly got louder during the business end of this season. Especially after claiming multiple individual awards and breaking a number of long-standing records. Defeating Real Madrid in the UCL Final in his first season at a club would be a towering leap towards truly challenging for the title of the world's best footballer of the year. Whether he walks onto the pitch in Yekaterinburg, Russia for Egypt's first match in the World Cup as a UCL winner or not, Mohamed Salah has won the respect, recognition and resting hearts of millions around the world. He knows much is expected from him. Egyptians and many of his Middle Eastern supporters are hoping a masterclass by Salah and his national teammates’ performances will drive them beyond the group stage of the competition and into the last-16, a position Egypt has never achieved. That pressure will certainly be on the national team as a whole, Mo Salah cannot possibly shoulder that hope alone. Or can he?