Mohamed Salah's private message to Micah Richards about Liverpool emerges

Mohamed Salah spoke about his desire to be a Liverpool legend before joining the Reds, and the Egyptian even told former Fiorentina teammate Micah Richards about his Anfield ambitions

Mohamed Salah will leave Liverpool at the end of the season(Image: Getty Images)

Mohamed Salah has achieved his lifelong "dream" of becoming a Liverpool icon.

Salah, 33, confirmed on Tuesday that he will depart the Reds at the end of the season. He arrived at the club from Roma in 2017 and has since cemented his status as one of their all-time greats, netting 255 goals in 435 appearances and lifting seven major trophies.

However, when he signed for Liverpool nine years ago, Salah confessed it was a "dream" to make the move to the Reds. Prior to his Premier League debut against Watford, he stated: "It is a great club. It was a dream for me when I was young to play here one day.

"When I had the chance to come, I was thinking about whether I should stay in Rome or move here, but because when I was young, it was a dream to me, I took the decision to come back.

"I would play as Liverpool on the PlayStation, so I am happy to be here now. I was playing with a team like Steven Gerrard, Sami Hyypia and Jamie Carragher. I liked the team and the way they were playing. I was seven or eight years old, so I was playing just to enjoy myself.

"I'm always looking for where I can improve myself, so here, because of the city, because of the fans, you can feel the emotions and everyone wants to win something. Everyone is happy for me, and I can feel that, even in the friendly games.

Micah Richards played alongside Salah at Fiorentina(Image: Getty Images)

"I am very happy to be here, and I would like to help the team, so I am very excited to start in the Premier League games, and I think we can win something this year together."

Then, in 2023, former Manchester City defender Micah Richards disclosed that Salah confided his ambition to become a Liverpool icon during their time as teammates at Fiorentina.

Salah and Richards shared the 2014-15 campaign in Florence, contributing to La Viola's commendable fourth-place finish and qualification for the Europa League.

Writing three years ago, Richards revealed in his Daily Mail column: "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.

"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."

It's fair to say Salah has achieved his goal of becoming a Liverpool icon. He ranks as the club's third-highest scorer of all time, trailing only Ian Rush and Roger Hunt, and has claimed every domestic honour available.

Salah has a maximum of 15 fixtures remaining in a Liverpool shirt. Seven of those arrive in the Premier League, while he could feature in three additional FA Cup ties and a further five Champions League encounters, depending on the club's advancement in both competitions.

There are 10 matches, however, that are guaranteed with Salah should he return to action following the international break. Next up for Liverpool is a trip to Manchester City in the FA Cup quarterfinal on Saturday, April 4.