29/03/2026

theSun on Sunday MAR 29, 2026

SPORTS 12

Salah legacy is clear

Egyptian King will depart Liverpool as one of the club’s greatest-ever players

after Ian Rush and Roger Hunt. A Mount Rushmore of Anfield greats, in terms of playing careers, would perhaps have Sir Kenny Dalglish, Rush, Steven Gerrard, and Salah on its face. As a cultural force, Liverpool have never had a player as influential as the Egyptian, which is perhaps why the rare occasions Salah did stop to speak could be so explosive. But his professionalism and dedication to his physical condition ensured he stretched his career to its lim its. “Your mentality is second to none and a lot of people could take note,” Robertson added, speaking from inside the dressing room. “You have pushed yourself every single day and always demanded more from yourself and others.” Curiously, for a player who will depart with such a glowing list of records and achievements, the one thing that Salah could be accused of missing is his record in major cup finals. In the Champions League, he was tormented by Real Madrid; injured, cru elly, by Sergio Ramos in Kyiv in 2018, then denied by Thibaut Courtois in Paris in 2022. His only appearance in an FA Cup final only lasted half an hour, forced off against Chelsea with a groin injury.

remarkable peaks across a ridiculous spell of consistency. His debut season at Liverpool, which brought 44 goals in just 52 appearances after arriving from Roma in June 2017, had many a hit sequel; year after year, in fact. Before this season, Salah had never dipped under 23 goals in all competitions for Liverpool, forming one of the Premier League’s most devastating frontlines alongside Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino. He also evolved as a creator, continuing to produce long after Mane and Firmino had left. Last season’s 47 goal involve ments in 38 games is perhaps the greatest individual season in Premier League his tory. And Salah could be an individual. His extraordinary rant at Elland Road last November, where he accused Liverpool of throwing him “under the bus”, suggested a player who had set himself such extraordi nary standards was now struggling to come to terms with his declining powers. That his attacking output has fallen so sharply, so soon after he was the outstand ing player in a title-winning side, is why Liverpool and Salah have “reached an agreement” that will bring his nine-year Anfield career to end this summer. It is the right decision, and it allows Salah the opportunity to get the reception he has earned over the final weeks of the season. “You deserve a send-off that reflects your status at LFC – the great est. Second to none,” wrote team mate Andy Robertson. He departs as the third-highest goalscorer in Liverpool’s history,

Manchester City in the FA Cup quarterfi nals and Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League quarterfinals. But Salah scored the opening goal in the final Liverpool had to win, the 2019 Champions League final in Madrid that acted as the turning point for Jurgen Klopp’s great first team. And, in any case, Salah’s greatest ability aside from his goals, assists and devastat ing speed was in how he read and under stood the rhythms of the title race as if he was a fan. In the 2019-20 season, his clinching goal against Manchester United, his favourite opponent, with 16 goals against them, sig nalled that Liverpool would be ending their 30-year wait for the title. When Liverpool won the Premier League again, Salah celebrated with a sel fie in front of the Kop and the missing piece from five years earlier: the supporters. “I never imagined how deeply this club, this city, this people, would become part of my life,” Salah said in his farewell message on social media. “Liverpool is not just a football club, it’s a passion, it’s a history, it’s a spirit.” It brought him to tears on the opening day of what would be his last season at Liverpool, when the Kop sang for the late Diogo Jota after the win against Bournemouth. And Salah, the boy from a small farming village in the Nile Delta, came to realise this connection better than anyone. The reign of the Egyptian King will live on, long after the sound of his chant dies away. – The Independent

BY JAMIE BRAIDWOOD

LIKE with so many of his goals for Liverpool, Mohamed Salah recognised the significance immediately. It was January 2020 and Anfield felt edgy and nervous as the hosts attempted to see out a 1-0 lead against Manchester United in stoppage time, when Alisson Becker’s quick thinking sent Salah through on goal, sprinting towards the Kop. Holding off the challenge of Dan James, Salah squeezed his finish under David de Gea, then told every Liverpool fan watch ing what it meant. Not for the last time when celebrating a goal, Salah whipped off his shirt. But for the first time that season, the Kop responded by chanting, “now you’re gonna believe us, we’re gonna win the League” – and they did. It was just one of the 255 goals Salah has scored for Liverpool – the sheer number is astonishing, but it may be the defining one. There was a connection between the “Egyptian King” and his people, an under standing of what they were chasing and the energy it required. Over nine years, Salah and Liverpool lived through the good and the bad, the titles and records along with the defeats and the heartbreak. A transformative figure in modern-day Liverpool, he is undoubtedly one of the greatest players in the club’s history. A proud Muslim, who bowed to the turf when celebrating his goals, Salah will also leave Liverpool and England having declared: “My kids are Scousers now”. Salah’s legacy will be one of achieving

The chances of ending his Liverpool career with silverware could rest on a piv otal two weeks after the international break, when the Reds face

Sinner ousts Zverev to book Miami Open final with Lehecka

Jannik Sinner celebrates after the match against Alexander Zverev (inset) in the semis of the men’s singles at the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium. – MIKE FREY-IMAGN IMAGES

Zverev for a 3-1 lead and held from there to capture the first set after 42 minutes on a service winner. Neither player could manage a break into the second-set tie breaker, which turned when Zverev sent an overhead smash long to hand Sinner a 5-4 lead. Zverev, who last beat the Italian in the fourth round at the 2023 US Open, sent a backhand wide on the next point and Sinner settled mat ters with a service winner, improving to 8-4 all-time against the German. “Today has been a very tough encounter. He played some incredi ble tennis,” Sinner said. “I was serv ing very well, especially in the cru cial moments, so I’m very happy.” – AFP

Fils of France 6-2, 6-2 in the other semifinal at Hard Rock

days but in any case it has been an incredible swing.” Reigning Wimbledon cham pion Sinner, a four-time Grand Slam winner, also beat Zverev two weeks ago in the Indian Wells semifinals and seeks his second Miami crown in three years. “Coming here, trying to

WORLD NO. 2 Jannik Sinner of Italy stretched his win streak over fourth ranked Alexander Zverev to seven matches yesterday, advancing to a Miami Open men’s final against Czech Jiri Lehecka. The 24-year-old Italian fired 15 aces in beating Germany’s Zverev 6 3, 7-6 (7-4) after an hour and 53 min utes – boosting his streak of con secutive sets won at the elite Masters 1000 level to 32. Sinner is trying to become the first man since Roger Federer in 2017 to complete the “Sunshine Double” by winning titles at Indian Wells and Miami in the same year. “Standing here again in a final means very much to me,“ Sinner said. “We’ll try to push in a couple of

Stadium, home of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins. Lehecka is winless in three matches against Sinner without taking a set. “He’s an incredible player,” said Sinner. “He’s going to be for sure more free than me but I try to control whatever I can con trol and the rest we’ll see how it goes.” Sinner blasted a fore hand winner to break

produce some good ten nis, that was my main goal,” Sinner said. “Trying to play as many matches as possible. I couldn’t do better. I’m very happy.” Lehecka, seeded 21st, dominated 28th-seeded Arthur