Jurgen Klopp: Mo Salah is an all-time great at Liverpool and his records will be unrivaled

Jurgen Klopp has described Mohamed Salah as one of Liverpool’s greatest ever players and believes the forward’s records will be unmatched.

Salah announced this week that he will leaving Liverpool at the end of the season after nine years at the club in which he became their third highest goalscorer behind Ian Rush and Roger Hunt.

The 33-year-old has won the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup at Anfield, with most of his success under former manager Klopp, who signed the forward and believes he is an all-round great.

“He’s right up there,” said Klopp, back in Liverpool for Saturday’s charity match at Anfield when Liverpool Legends face Borussia Dortmund Legends.

“I can’t really compare with others, just the people and players I’ve worked with. But in my time, and as I really follow or work for Liverpool, he’s definitely up there with the best.

“But I don’t have to say because you read the numbers, you already know there is something special.”

Salah scored 255 goals and provided 119 assists in 435 appearances at Liverpool.

Klopp said: “The numbers he produced, the standards he set, I think some of them, if not all of them, will remain unmatched. In this modern Premier League era, certainly, because it’s just ridiculous to do that

“He helped the team to be very, very successful. He was successful himself, which is rare in this sport, but as a striker you have to take criticism.

“Dealing with all of that and being alone, being yourself, is really complicated, and he’s done it in exceptional ways. He’s one of the best professionals I’ve ever met, one of the best people I’ve ever met.

“We texted the other day and we had our arguments, but it was always for the right reasons, and that’s always good, and especially now looking back, it’s more than good.

“We’re both very happy to be a part of that incredible journey. A huge one, definitely, without a shadow of a doubt.”

Salah will become a free agent at the end of the season and his agent said he don’t know where the forward will play next seasonalthough there are several Saudi Arabian clubs who want to sign him this summer.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he plays another six or seven years, to be honest,” added Klopp.

“He’s an incredible professional, he set completely new standards for a professional footballer, how hard you can work, how much you can invest in recovery and everything, if something came up, he got all the information about it, and then the next day he got it, and if it wasn’t good, he threw it away again.”

Robertson: King Kenny names Salah as Liverpool’s best

Andy Robertson said Salah will leave as one of Liverpool’s best players, but reckons Sir Kenny Dalglish gives his teammate the prize of being the club’s best.

Salah announced earlier this week that he was leaving Liverpool after reaching an agreement to end his contract a year early. The forward will be a free agent when he moves on.

Robertson’s social media post suggested the Egyptian was “the greatest” – but he made his stance on international duty clear, putting Scotland and Liverpool ahead of his friend.

“I think (Salah’s) definitely one of the biggest,” said Robertson, asked if Dalglish had been in touch after his post.

“I would say Kenny probably passes him on and I say that to him most days. For me, Kenny is the best player of all time for Scotland and he is the best player of all time for Liverpool.

“Behind that you have three or four players who come into conversation about who is there and Mo Salah certainly comes into that conversation.

“It’s just an absolute credit for him to even be in the conversation with Kenny Dalglish, Steven Gerrard, Ian Rush, people like that. For Mo to be in the same sentence is an absolute credit to him for what he’s done over the last nine years.”

Robertson says he supports Salah’s decision to move away from Anfield nine years after they both joined in the summer of 2017.

“To be able to call him a teammate, but also to call him a friend, and he’s been a good friend of mine for the last nine years, it’s an absolute privilege to be able to play with him,” says Robertson.

“Obviously it will be sad, the next few weeks of his farewell, but he will get the send-off he deserves because he is a Premier League legend, but he is certainly a Liverpool legend.”