News‘Well deserved, Mo!’ - Klopp reacts to Salah’s PFA Player of the Year award
Jürgen Klopp explained why Mohamed Salah was a deserving recipient of the 2021-22 Men's PFA Players' Player of the Year award.
It was revealed on Thursday evening that Liverpool’s Egyptian had won the prestigious prize for the second time in his career, after a vote by his peers.
The No.11 was recognised for his stellar campaign that saw him bag 31 goals and 15 assists in all competitions, with teammates Virgil van Dijk and Sadio Mane also on the final six-man shortlist for the accolade.
“What I really love about this prize is that it’s voted for by the players,” Klopp said. “That’s the one prize that you should be interested in.
“Whatever the supporters say, your own supporters always say, 'Oh you’re the greatest’ and all the others say, ‘How can he win it?’
“So, in Mo’s case obviously it’s the numbers, scoring goals. But scoring the most goals and having the most assists, with all the ups and downs during a season, all the things I know about football, that’s a deserved winner."
The 2021-22 season also saw Salah climb up into ninth place on the Reds’ all-time highest scorers list.
The forward has racked up 156 goals from his 254 appearances for the club following a switch from AS Roma in the summer of 2017.
On his initial impressions of the player, Klopp commented: “I saw that [how he could improve] when we scouted him, when I saw a lot of videos of Mo. Let me say it like this, he was not the finishing monster we see now.
“I was incredibly excited about the chance to work together with him. We spoke, yes, that was a very good talk but obviously we all need longer to know about a person.
“The moment I knew it will be outstanding [was] when I knew him as a person, because he’s full of desire, he never will stop developing and he’s a workhorse.
“I know we say it a lot but he’s really the first in – maybe around Millie, maybe Millie beats him from time to time – and he’s the last out. So treatment, gym work, all these kinds of things.
"On the pitch, if you tell Mo because of the intensity of the games, ‘Mo, you go in now. Thank you very much’. ‘I’m good, I’m good, get me another 10 balls.'
“So he deserves it absolutely, and that’s why he’s the second-time winner of this wonderful trophy. Well deserved, Mo, by the way!”
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