Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah offered congratulations on Wednesday to his followers worldwide on the occasion of the New Year 2019 and the Christmas holidays.
Salah posted on his Twitter account, “And to all, a Merry Christmas!”
The BBC awarded Egyptian footballer and Liverpool star Mohamed Salah on December 14 the Best Player in Africa award for 2018 for the second year in a row.
He is the first Arab player to have won the BBC Best African Player award for two years in a row, and the second African player to win the award for two consecutive years after Nigeria’s Jay-Jay Okocha in 2003 and 2004. He is the third Egyptian football player to win the award after Mohamed Barakat in 2005 and Mohamed Aboutrika in 2008.
Salah is in the contest for the African Football Confederation (CAF) award for the best player of the year 2018, which will be announced on January 8 in the Senegalese capital Dakar. He won the same award in 2017.
Salah won the Golden Boot award as well as the Premier League Player of the Season title after an unforgettable debut season with Liverpool.
Salah also finished third in the 2018 European Footballer of the Year list by the European Football Federation (UEFA).
Known as the “Egyptian King”, he won the Football Supporters’ Federation’s (FSF) Men’s Player of the Year award for 2018 on December 4. Salah was also announced the winner of a fan’s poll that attracted over 366,000 votes during a December 3 ceremony in London, Liverpool reported on its official website.
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.
Meanwhile, Liverpool head coach Jurgen Klopp said last week that Salah is still under his top performance due to his shoulder injury during the Champions League final against Real Madrid in May.
During a press conference prior to the match against Newcastle Club, Klopp said, “It’s good. He had to adapt a bit to a slightly different position; it’s not that much different, but it is different from time to time.”
“But he is still – with his desire and his speed, especially on the first few yards – just impressive,” he added.
Klopp mentioned that Salah was a very important part of Liverpool’s tactics within the Premier League and Champions League matches.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
