The man behind the headlines - Salah, by Klopp, Diaz and more

During nan 8 and a half years he has spent astatine Liverpool, Mohamed Salah has been beloved by supporters, who rank nan 'Egyptian King' among nan club's top ever players.

But since his unexpected declaration that he feels scapegoated by Liverpool for nan club's mediocre run, having been picked arsenic a substitute for 3 consecutive matches by head Arne Slot, Salah's characteristic has been called into mobility by fans, erstwhile players and beyond.

So who is Salah nan man - distant from nan latest headlines?

Over nan past fewer months, BBC Sport has spoken to immoderate of those who cognize him champion to find retired much astir nan characteristic and resilience of nan man down nan goals, nan glory, and nan gossip.

Mo Salah: Never Give Up

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Salah's relentless strength and refusal to judge little standards from himself aliases those astir him person underpinned Liverpool's success, and possibly besides explicate why he has recovered disapproval of his diminished domiciled reliable to handle.

"We are each massively influenced by our past - really we were raised, wherever we grew up," says Jurgen Klopp, who won each awesome trophy successful English and European shot while managing Salah astatine Anfield. "Mo knew early connected [in his life] that he had to do much than others.

"He ever developed. He ne'er stops. That is his mindset.

"After each summertime break he came backmost and had a caller skill. It was for illustration he had spent nan full clip conscionable practising 1 peculiar type of pass.

"We pushed each other, conscionable to make judge that we would ne'er stop. And we ne'er did stop. That infinitesimal lifting nan Premier League bonded america for life. He will beryllium remembered arsenic 1 of nan top of each time.

"I wouldn't opportunity he is easy to manage, but he is besides not difficult to manage. You [only] person problems pinch Mo Salah if he is not playing aliases you return him off."

Salah has been criticised by immoderate for not giving much predominant media interviews earlier his involution successful nan mixed area astatine Leeds' Elland Road, peculiarly aft defeats and mediocre performances.

He has been accused of demonstrating a deficiency of leadership. But he has often delivered calls to arms to fans connected societal media, external successful difficult moments, and those who person played alongside him picture Salah arsenic a man who refuses to springiness up and is tin of inspiring others.

"He will ever beryllium trying to beryllium personification wrong," says erstwhile Liverpool team-mate Adam Lallana.

"He is not macho. I would often show my children astir really he behaves, really he doesn't get excessively precocious successful bully moments, doesn't hit himself up excessively overmuch successful debased moments. He would ever stay wholly focused connected nan occupation successful hand.

"I would look astatine him and it would make maine consciousness calm because of really successful power he would beryllium each nan time.

"Knowing Mo, he will ever beryllium fighting, being resilient, and trying to find ways to amended himself."

Salah defended his grounds erstwhile speaking astatine Elland Road, and compared himself to England skipper Harry Kane - delivering what he felt was a reminder to those wrong and extracurricular of Liverpool who person forgotten what he is tin of.

A level of arrogance is possibly to beryllium expected successful each elite athletes, and immoderate judge it has powered Salah to nan heights he and Liverpool person reached.

"He is simply a really bully guy, considering nan occurrence he has had - being a superstar astir nan globe," says James Milner - Liverpool's vice-captain during astir of Salah's clip astatine nan club.

"He plays arsenic if he has a spot connected his shoulder. He wants to beryllium nan champion astatine everything - he moreover sewage a chess coach to amended his game, and gave maine a thumping a bully fewer times.

"You request different types of leaders, and Mo is simply a large leader successful that group, successful position of nan standards he group each day. When you person young players travel and sign, they spot him and it's 'this is what it takes to beryllium a apical player, this is what it is to beryllium a Liverpool player'."

That desire to ever beryllium nan champion became title - fraught astatine times - pinch team-mate Sadio Mane, Liverpool's different flying guardant who played connected nan other helping to Salah for 5 seasons.

"Were they champion friends? No," Klopp says. "Could Mo person passed nan shot a fewer times erstwhile he tried to decorativeness it disconnected himself? Yes. But connected nan transportation they supported each other, they fought for each other."

Salah is much than conscionable a footballer - he is simply a world sociocultural icon, being named 1 of nan world's astir influential people, steering conversations connected quality rights, and changing attitudes towards Muslims done demonstrations of faith.

He was calved successful a agrarian colony - Nagrig - astir 100 miles from Cairo, wherever astir of nan astir 15,000 inhabitants activity arsenic farmers and much than half unrecorded successful poverty.

That specified a region could nutrient 1 of nan world's top athletes borders connected impossible.

"What already group him isolated arsenic a kid was his discipline," says Maher Anwar Shtiyeh - politician of Nagrig. "He remains profoundly tied to his roots, contempt fame and world recognition.

"He only finds existent happiness successful his colony spending clip pinch his family and friends. He is simply a domiciled exemplary for nan younker of Egypt, nan Arab youth, and nan younker of nan full Islamic world. He has lifted nan heads of each of us."

As a child, Salah would recreation up to 5 hours by minibus from his colony to nan capital, wherever he played younker shot for top-flight nine Arab Contractors.

That helped instil a resilience that has guided him passim his master career, alongside support from loved ones.

"You person to beryllium mentally truthful beardown arsenic a young kid pursuing your dream for illustration that," says erstwhile world team-mate Ahmed Elmohamady.

"His woman is from nan aforesaid village. They grew up together, which is awesome because she knows everything astir him and has supported him each nan way.

"Now anyone successful nan colony who asks him for support, he supports them. It shows what a awesome quality being he is."

Since leaving Egypt, Salah has maintained adjacent ties pinch Nagrig and financed an ambulance station, a charitable instauration and a belief institute successful nan area.

Salah has proudly made his religion visible passim his profession - he prays some erstwhile stepping onto nan transportation and aft scoring goals.

"When I first met Mo, he was coming present rather regularly," says Shafique Rahman - Imam astatine Liverpool Mosque and Islamic Institute. "He would get a small spot precocious aft finishing training. We had group waiting extracurricular who wanted to spot him, but cipher would fuss him during prayer.

"The quality of nan belief is that everybody is nan aforesaid successful nan eyes of God. When group travel to prayers they guidelines highly close, rubbing each other's shoulders. Mo felt secure here."

When Salah first moved to England - signed by Jose Mourinho's Chelsea aft impressing for Basel successful Switzerland - he struggled to enforce his characteristic successful a squad afloat of established stars, and lacked self-belief.

"When I first met him, he was 21 - very innocent," says erstwhile team-mate Mark Schwarzer. "He was coming to London - a large city, different civilization - and I deliberation he was a spot timid.

"When he signed, he was coming into a changing room packed afloat of world stars - players that were utilized to winning, and a head that was a fable of nan club. For caller players, it was descend aliases swim.

"The much he didn't score, nan much disappointment he became. There was a infinitesimal successful nan changing room erstwhile Jose really kicked a table, and was directing a batch of his vexation towards Mo, and he took him off. Mo was visibly upset.

"It's in installments to him, his determination, his dedication, everything, to spell connected and present what he has done."

Salah rebuilt his profession successful Italy's Serie A - first successful a indebtedness spell pinch Fiorentina past astatine Roma, processing a estimation arsenic an on-field leader and eventual professional.

"He was conscionable different," explains BBC pundit and erstwhile England and Manchester City defender Micah Richards, who played alongside Salah astatine Fiorentina. "You get those characters that conscionable do everything by nan book - he was that guy.

"He would ever beryllium successful furniture early, ever beryllium eating healthily. He intelligibly thought, 'I'm going to show everyone precisely what I tin do. All those who person doubted maine are going to eat their words.' That's precisely what he did."

For a young African man to group standards for European colleagues to travel was a situation successful itself.

"To win successful Europe you person to understand nan civilization of wherever you are playing, wherever you are living, without losing immoderate of your principles," says erstwhile Egypt striker Mido, who played for Tottenham, Roma and Ajax among others. "This is nan equilibrium that he has achieved.

"He has made young boys successful Africa dream - 'If personification who comes from nan inheritance arsenic I do made it to nan top, why couldn't I make it?'"

Even earlier Salah's comments pursuing nan 3-3 tie pinch Leeds, doubts astir his early were arising.

Inside Liverpool, concerns had already been raised astir his performances, earlier transportation rumours were fixed further encouragement this week, pinch sources telling nan BBC nan Reds are open-minded astir trading nan 33-year-old.

Salah is not nan only Liverpool leader whose clip astatine nan nine - which he and Slot person said could beryllium up successful nan January transportation model - has (potentially) ended pinch nationalist denigration.

In different contexts, Javier Mascherano, Fernando Torres and Trent Alexander-Arnold person met akin fates, while shirts base nan legendary Steven Gerrard's sanction were group alight successful nan thoroughfare erstwhile he was connected nan verge of joining Chelsea successful 2005.

If this is nan extremity of Salah and Liverpool's emotion affair, nan quality effect he has had connected those astir him will not beryllium forgotten immoderate clip soon.

"He was 1 of nan first group to invited me, and did truthful successful specified an unthinkable way," says Luis Diaz, who played alongside Salah successful Liverpool's guardant statement for 3 and a half years earlier joining Bayern Munich earlier this year.

"He came complete to maine and said: 'if you ever request my help, I'm present for you.' I retrieve him telling maine connected nan pitch: 'Let's effort this... let's make this move truthful that it works.' And past it would activity successful nan match.

"To stock nan infinitesimal lifting nan Premier League pinch him, to spot really happy he was, really overmuch he was enjoying it, was an unthinkable feeling.

"He is ever wanting to beryllium a amended player, to beryllium a amended person, and he has near a profound people connected me."