Micah Richards has revealed Mohamed Salah spoke of his desire to sign for Liverpool during their time together at Fiorentina.
The pair spent the 2014/15 season together at the Serie A side after being loaned out in search of regular playing time. This proved to be a particularly beneficial experience for Salah in particular, who caught the eye of many clubs by scoring nine times in his 26 appearances.
Liverpool were already aware of the Egyptian prior to his temporary stay in Italy, having missed out on recruiting the 30-year-old during the January window of 2014 to Chelsea. The Reds would eventually get their man four years later, agreeing a deal with AS Roma to bring the forward to Anfield.
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Salah has established himself as one of the best players to represent the Reds since his 2017 move, winning all trophies on offer in England as well as helping the club to a sixth Champions League. On target in Saturday's triumph over Nottingham Forest took his overall goalscoring tally to 183, a figure bettered by only five individuals in Liverpool's history.
Becoming a club icon has been a long-term aim for the Reds' No.11, however, as explained by Richards. "It was always Mo Salah’s dream to be a Liverpool legend. I played with him at Fiorentina and when we used to go out for coffee, he talked about his ambition to move to Anfield eventually," he wrote in his Daily Mail column.
"I knew when Liverpool signed him in 2017 they had a superstar in the making, but even I’ve been stunned by the number of goals he has scored. He needs four more to leapfrog Steven Gerrard (186) and get into the club’s all-time top five. Don’t bet against him doing it by the end of the season."
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