Mohamed Salah 'obsession' left Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain amazed at exit

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has detailed Mohamed Salah's intense professional dedication and training regime following the Egyptian forward's impending Liverpool departure

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain speaks on In The Mixer(Image: In The Mixer)

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has expressed his surprise at Mohamed Salah's decision to leave Liverpool.

The 32-year-old admitted he thought the Egyptian would "never stop" based on what he witnessed behind the scenes. Salah will end his nine-year tenure at Anfield when this season finishes, having cemented his status as a club legend with several individual accolades, team trophies and more than 250 goals.

He signed during the summer of 2017, the same transfer window in which Oxlade-Chamberlain arrived from Arsenal. The pair were teammates for six seasons under manager Jurgen Klopp. Following Salah's heartfelt announcement confirming his impending departure, Oxlade-Chamberlain has shared his astonishment while highlighting what sets the 33-year-old apart.

Speaking on In The Mixer brought to you by Sky Bet, Oxlade-Chamberlain said: "I was a bit shocked because he is the type of guy that you just think will never stop. What Mo has achieved there at Liverpool is unprecedented.

"It is surreal to think that he's gone to heights that are just astronomical. It's Ronaldo-type numbers, but before Liverpool, he'd had a lot of setbacks.

"Gone to Chelsea, it didn't quite work out. He'd gone to Italy, and then he comes to Liverpool, and he just turned into an animal.

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Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Mohamed Salah were teammates for several years(Image: Getty Images)

"But he probably thinks it's the best time for him. For our team, he was just incredible. He's one of those players, I always say they're special players, where if I'm having a bad game, I'm useless to everyone.

"He could have a terrible game and score two goals and win you the game. That's special. If I'm not feeling it on the day, I'm not scoring two goals. Everything needs to be clicking. If he was having a good game or a bad game, he had a mindset and a mentality that was just elite to not get too hard on himself, doesn't get too high, doesn't get too low, always ready in the moment.

"That's a special attribute that I saw from him. And that is the only way you can produce what he produces, not to mention that he lives and breathes the game.

"Off the pitch, like every little stone is turned. In terms of professionals, I have never seen anyone do what Mo does every hour of the day to the point where I straight up look at him and think, 'I don't think I could do that, and fair play.'

"He comes off the pitch, he's installed ice baths, ice chambers, cryo chambers in his house, and red light therapy, and he is from one thing to the next. He definitely doesn't play golf or anything in his free time. He ain't got time for anything else!

"The number of times I used to before training get up for a coffee, I'm seeing Mo running through a tunnel before training with his hat on, like Rocky. I'm putting my window up, going, 'Mo, what are you doing?' He's like, 'I'm just loosening off before training.'

"He'll go to training, he's the first in the gym. Then he trains how he trains. He's in the gym doing treatment, therapy, whatever, doing another gym session. It is an obsession. You've got to give someone like that credit."