Saturday 12 August 2017 11:19, UK
Mo Salah says it is his 'dream' to play for Liverpool as he used to choose the Reds on the PlayStation when he was a youngster.
The Egypt international returned to English shores this summer after a successful spell in Italy and has already been exciting Liverpool fans with his pre-season performances, helping the club to win the Premier League Asia Trophy last month.
He is set to make his first Premier League appearance in a red shirt as Liverpool travel to Watford live on Sky Sports Premier League on Saturday, and said he made the move to Anfield to fulfil a childhood dream.
"It is a great club. It was a dream for me when I was young to play here one day," he told Soccer Saturday. "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.
"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."
Salah previously played for league rivals Chelsea, although he made just 19 appearances for the Blues in all competitions before loans at Fiorentina and Roma, making a permanent move to the latter last summer.
But the winger says it was always his intention to return to England and believes he has improved every area of his game while in Italy.
"It was always in my mind to come back. I like the challenge, I like English football and I want success here," Salah added.
"I was not playing at Chelsea so I took the decision to go somewhere else. I went to Fiorentina and did six months and with Roma, I was there for two seasons so it was a good challenge for me. I had a good time with Roma and I did well so it was a good time to come back.
"As a person, as a man, even on the pitch you can see that I have a lot of experience now. I played in Italy, I was in Switzerland, I came to England then I went back to Italy so it's a big change in my life.
"I think I have improved everything. I think now, compared to three or four years ago, I can defend more, I can play more tactically, I can finish better than I could before. I scored about 40 goals with Roma so that's quite good. I always like to improve myself."
As the new season begins, there will be plenty of eyes on Salah as Liverpool's club-record signing, although the Egyptian is not worried about the price tag.
"I'm a professional and I know in football that everything can change in one day so I am excited to show everyone my football," he said.
"I am not thinking too much about being the most expensive player in the club's history, I just want to play football, I want to enjoy it and I want everyone around me to be happy and I want to be happy so that is the most important thing for me."
Catch Salah in action for Liverpool live on Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event this weekend as they take on Watford. Tune in from 11.30am.
