Mohamed Salah: A Global Icon and Role Model

"I was on the bench for two months," he told Sports Illustrated. "I told my father, 'I can't go… every day and be on the bench.' I was crying. He said, 'Listen, everyone who became a big name after a long time, he suffered a lot [first]. It's not going to be easy. Just keep focused, train hard and I'm sure you will play again and be great.' That's a moment that I still remember… After a short period, I started playing again - and everything has worked out."

"From the first day I left Egypt for Basel's assessment, I told myself I had to become a different player," Salah told Egyptian television's Kol Youm programme. "I wanted to do a great achievement, to attract attention, and to become a player people love and follow."

European acclaim did not come overnight, however. Salah struggled for game time at Chelsea and had to switch to Italy's Serie A to rebuild his career with Fiorentina and, from 2015-17, Roma. On returning to England with Liverpool, he announced: "I like to play here in the Premier League. I'm happy to be back and I'm excited.

"I will give everything for the club. I am happy to be here - and I really want to win something for this club."

Nine years later, Salah, true to his word, will leave behind a legacy of trophies and titles - but also the fulfilment of his original stated ambition, on leaving Africa, "to become a player people love".

At the time, singer Tim Booth, himself a Leeds United fan, told Liverpool FC: "We've been precious with Sit Down. We know it means a lot to people and we've stopped a lot of adverts or people using it in ways that we felt might denigrate it. But one of the greatest footballers in the world can have it. When he's playing such beautiful football, it's a pleasure."

It was not the only Britpop anthem to get a Salah-inspired re-write that season, with London band Dodgy's Good Enough providing the tune for a terrace chant the player calls "something special". Acknowledging Salah's self-proclaimed pride in his Muslim identity, the fans sing: "If he's good enough for you, he's good enough for me, If he scores another few, then I'll be Muslim too, If he's good enough for you, he's good enough for me, He's sitting in the mosque, that's where I want to be."

An "inverted winger", he attacks from wide on the right flank but then cuts inside, using body feints and rapid shifts in pace to dribble past defenders and shoot with his stronger left foot. Not content with this effective tactic, however, Salah has also undergone intensive training to gradually strengthen his right foot.

But for Salah, the hard work really starts when he comes home from training. He follows a strict routine built around diet, exercise and recovery. He uses elite-level gym and rehabilitation facilities, including his own home hyperbaric oxygen chamber to aid recovery and reduce fatigue. "I have everything at home," he has said. "It's like a hospital."

Salah follows a strict diet rich in protein and greens. He typically eats five or six balanced meals a day that include foods such as eggs, avocado, broccoli, sweet potatoes, oats, almond milk and fruit. He stays away from sugar and eats only gluten-free brown bread. But when he returns to Egypt, he still enjoys traditional koshary, the national dish, of fried rice with lentils and onions.

"I want all Egyptian people to follow my way to improve themselves," Salah told BBC Sport. "We are a huge country. We have many children. I want everyone to dream and feel they can do something."

Meanwhile, in Liverpool, Salah's skill, but also consistency, professionalism and humility, have made him a symbol of pride for both the club and the city. He is credited with increasing social cohesion - and even a reduction in hate crime - as well as attracting a growing number of Muslim fans to Anfield.

"I hope on this last matchday you all will have a smile on your face and just be happy and thankful that you were part of one of the most incredible careers we will ever be part of," Klopp told Liverpool fans, on The Anfield Wrap podcast.

"Mo was the one with a goal always in his mind. You cannot train that or learn it. It is inside him - and he has that. He will have it until the last day of his life."

Back in Nagrig, a single Salah supporter simply sums up the emotions of a whole people, telling BBC News Arabic: "We will always love and support Mohamed Salah, wherever he goes and whichever team he plays for."