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Mohammed Salah was once described by Liverpool legend Graeme Souness as "perhaps the greediest player I've ever seen."
Souness suggested the "extremely selfish" Salah's single-mindedness in front of goal and lust for personal accomplishments set him apart from every other forward in world soccer. It was meant, in many ways, as a compliment.
The Scot explained that it was Salah's sheer determination to score that had landed him so many goals, and that his teammates wouldn't mind, purely because he was, more often than not, sticking the ball in the net. Yet Salah showed there is more to his make-up than just chasing his own ambitions, with a selfless gesture to Manchester City forward Omar Marmoush on Friday.
Both players featured in Egypt's World Cup qualifying victory over Ethiopia in Cairo, with each of them scoring in a 2-0 win. Salah got his country ahead in the 41st minute when he dispatched a penalty - his 61st goal for Egypt.
In doing so, Salah drew level for most goals by an African player in World Cup qualifying history, along with four other players leading on 18: Samuel Eto'o, Didier Drogba, Islam Slimani, and Moumouni Dagano. Esteemed company.
Yet even when offered the chance to go clear of the rest of the pack when Egypt were awarded another penalty just six minutes later, Salah instead opted to hand the ball to City star Marmoush, who duly obliged to double the team's advantage.
This was despite Salah still pursuing Egypt's all-time record for goals scored, currently led by Hossam Hassan on 68, seven ahead of the Liverpool star.
It's not the first time Salah has stepped aside to boost his own teammate.
He did the same for ex-Liverpool strike partner Roberto Firmino in the 2018/19 season to allow the Brazilian to complete his hat-trick in a 5-1 demolition of Arsenal.
Former Reds boss Jurgen Klopp said afterwards: "Mo Salah gave the penalty to Bobby [Firmino] and I almost cried because we all know how much Mo wants to score goals. It was really nice."
Just this week, Salah also leapt to the defence of two former Liverpool teammates who have only departed the club this summer.
A Liverpool fan account posted an image on social media of departed pair Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez, pictured above new club-record signings Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak, captioned: “Name a bigger upgrade in footballing history.”
Salah reacted by sharing the post with the reply: "How about we celebrate the great signings without disrespecting the Premier League champions?”
While away on international duty this week, Salah also presented a signed Liverpool shirt to youngster Amr El Gazar, who was called up to the senior Egypt squad for the first time.
“Moments like these are priceless for any footballer,” El Gazar said. “To have the support of someone like Salah makes it even more special.”
It's no real surprise that Salah is Egypt's captain and remains part of Liverpool's leadership group.
Unbeaten Egypt's win puts the team in a strong position to qualify for next summer's World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
They currently top Group A, five points clear of Burkina Faso in second, after seven games played.
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