LONDON – Mohamed Salah was dressed in stylish fashion as he collected his Football Writers’ Association (FWA) Footballer of the Year trophy at a ceremony in London.
The Egypt international needs two goal involvements in Liverpool’s final home game against Crystal Palace to set a Premier League record.
The event, which took place at The Landmark Hotel in Marylebone, also saw Arsenal forward Alessia Russo in attendance to claim the Women’s Footballer of the Year award for 2024-25.
Salah sported a navy jacket with black lapels, a white shirt and a bow tie as he posed with the trophy while Russo was in a black dress, the Daily Mail reported.
It marks the third time he has been nominated for the award, having also won it in 2017-18 and 2021-22.
The winner is selected via a voting process amongst the members of the FWA, which consists of around 400 football journalists based throughout England.
Salah took time out of his preparations to receive the trophy at the Landmark Hotel in person, as did Alessio Russo, the Arsenal forward who will attempt to help her team win the Women’s Champions League on Saturday in Lisbon.
“It means a lot to win this award,” said Salah, who was previously recognised in 2018 and 2022.
“It is incredible to see the names and it is so special. I am here because we have won the Premier League and I have had that impact on the team.
‘The day we won it (against Tottenham) honestly, I have never felt that happy and the celebrations when we won it were amazing. But I do want to get the most goals and assists!
‘I wondered at the start of the season how we would do it. A good manager and great players had left and I wondered whether we would be able to do it again. But we worked hard and did our job and we did it very well.
‘We have got a good group of players and a very good manager. We started the season well and we took it on to win the Premier League again.
“I hope I can be here again next season. I want to win the Premier League one more time and the Champions League again.”
Salah, 32, has played a pivotal role in helping Liverpool storm to the Premier League title in Arne Slot’s first season at Anfield.
With 2024-25 drawing to a close, the Egyptian has 28 goals and 18 assists in 37 league matches to date, making him the overwhelming favorite for the Golden Boot.
Liverpool’s talismanic winger also provided the club and its fans with a huge boost when he announced in April that he would be signing a new two-year contract.
He put pen to paper on a two-year contract worth £380,000 per week, ending one of the club’s biggest contract sagas in recent history.
Had he chosen not to sign a new deal, he would have been allowed to leave the club for free at the end of the current campaign, a move chosen by Trent Alexander-Arnold who looks set to join Real Madrid.
