Forget rival fans, pundits or even his sternest opponents - it turns out Mohamed Salah's toughest critics have been sitting at home all along. Salah is set to leave on a free transfer at the end of this season, bringing the curtain down on an illustrious, record-breaking nine-year spell at Anfield, where he became the club's third-highest goalscorer of all time with 255 goals.
A Light-Hearted Moment
In a light-hearted moment from the club's in-house 'Farewell to the King' interview, the Liverpool icon found himself on the receiving end of some brutally honest feedback. Asked to rate their dad's footballing ability, Salah's youngest, six-year-old Kayan, didn't hold back, coolly handing him a modest 7 out of 10. 'What does he need to do better?' she is asked, to which she replies: 'Score more goals.' Not to be outdone, Kayan's older sister Makka, 11, doubled down on the critique, insisting the Liverpool legend 'needs to score more goals and pass to more players'.
Favourite Goals
They were then asked which was their favourite goal scored by a member of the Salah family at Anfield - to which both confidently replied their own. 'Any of your dad's that you liked?' they were asked, before Kayan quickly shot back: 'No.' Salah is then shown a covered-up picture on the penalty spot and asked to guess its significance. 'I'm trying to think which penalty that we had that was really important, but I'm not finding any,' he admits. The image is then revealed to be of the forward at Anfield alongside Makka, prompting Salah to recall: 'When I won the Golden Boot I was taking a picture here and going inside, then Makka grabbed the ball. She didn't want to miss because every touch she had, the fans would go "weyyy".' He adds: 'Even if I was in your shoes, I would have been stressed. Even after I scored many goals for this club, I still would have been stressed. It's something very special as a father to have seen my daughter score a goal here. I was telling (Hugo) Ekitike before he scored that "my daughter has scored more goals than you".'
Loyalty to Liverpool
It also appears their loyalties are firmly tied to Merseyside, with Salah revealing: 'My kids will always support Liverpool. Even when I told them I was leaving, they said "we will support the club even when you leave". I said "are you not going to support my new club?" and they said "no, we love Liverpool – we're not going to support anyone else". I said "OK, fine".' Salah confirmed his departure from last season's Premier League champions in March, with his long-serving agent Ramy Abbas stating that no one yet knows where he will play next season.
Farewell to Anfield
He is poised to bid farewell to Anfield on Sunday against Brentford, alongside fellow stalwart Andy Robertson, although his departure comes on a slightly curious note after last weekend's indirect dig at Arne Slot's style and concerns over slipping standards. That followed earlier comments in which Salah suggested he had been 'thrown under the bus' during a dip in form, adding to speculation around Slot's position despite the club standing by their manager. There had even been some debate over whether Slot would give Salah a fitting send-off given the circumstances. That question now appears settled, however. Asked how he will remember Salah, Slot said: '100 per cent last season – he said the most special thing I have won was last season's Premier League title. Now I can safely say that was the most special thing I have won in my life, so I will remember that and how important he was in that season for the club, and as a result also for me with all the goals he scored.'
