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Only Mo Salah: An Intimate Portrait of Liverpool's Egyptian King
Not yet published
Expected 9 Mar 27Raw, authoritative and compelling, this is an intimate portrait of the Egyptian King - a biography that matches Mo's magnificent career.
Mohamed Salah is one of the greatest footballers of all time. Records have been battered and bettered with such ferocity that there is a special archive of stats under the headline 'Only Mo Salah'. Yet his influence and impact stretches far beyond just goals, triumphs and trophies. Salah is a cultural behemoth; a man who means many different things to a diverse spread of people across the globe - not least in Egypt, where he has become a symbol of hope. However, through all of the success and exposure, Salah has remained true to himself, despite being largely misunderstood.
In this extraordinary biography packed with untold stories, acclaimed football writer Melissa Reddy paints a true portrait of Salah by speaking to teammates, friends, coaches, his local community, sporting directors, backroom staff and more. Reddy explores how he beat the odds to transcend his humble background in rural Nagrig along with the early sacrifices that led him to Cairo and onto Basel, his true experience at Chelsea before his rebirth with Fiorentina and Roma, which allowed him to reach his full potential at Liverpool, where he made being extraordinary the norm. All of this while carrying Egypt's national team on his shoulders.
Alongside the success, there is an honest journey through Mo's lowest moments and missteps too, backlit by the millions of people leaning heavily on him. Only Mo Salah climbs well beyond how a kid from a remote village scaled unimaginable heights to become a history-maker on and off the pitch, it showcases why Salah has a formidable claim to being the most important footballer on the planet.
Mohamed Salah is one of the greatest footballers of all time. Records have been battered and bettered with such ferocity that there is a special archive of stats under the headline 'Only Mo Salah'. Yet his influence and impact stretches far beyond just goals, triumphs and trophies. Salah is a cultural behemoth; a man who means many different things to a diverse spread of people across the globe - not least in Egypt, where he has become a symbol of hope. However, through all of the success and exposure, Salah has remained true to himself, despite being largely misunderstood.
In this extraordinary biography packed with untold stories, acclaimed football writer Melissa Reddy paints a true portrait of Salah by speaking to teammates, friends, coaches, his local community, sporting directors, backroom staff and more. Reddy explores how he beat the odds to transcend his humble background in rural Nagrig along with the early sacrifices that led him to Cairo and onto Basel, his true experience at Chelsea before his rebirth with Fiorentina and Roma, which allowed him to reach his full potential at Liverpool, where he made being extraordinary the norm. All of this while carrying Egypt's national team on his shoulders.
Alongside the success, there is an honest journey through Mo's lowest moments and missteps too, backlit by the millions of people leaning heavily on him. Only Mo Salah climbs well beyond how a kid from a remote village scaled unimaginable heights to become a history-maker on and off the pitch, it showcases why Salah has a formidable claim to being the most important footballer on the planet.
240 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication March 9, 2027
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 9, 2026
Mel Reddy is one of the best in the industry and thought she really beautifully captured the journey of a king
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Review of advance copy
As soon as this book was announced, I was so excited to read it. As Liverpool fans, we are so, so blessed to have Melissa Reddy write about our club. She is such an incredible person and journalist, who I have so much respect for.
This book, although not specifically about Liverpool, is about someone so important to our history and such a big part of our lives. Mo has given us so many special memories through years of passion and dedication that will never, ever be forgotten.
His story is so much more than simply being an incredible footballer. It’s about dreaming big and working incredibly hard to constantly improve and learn. No matter what setbacks he faced, he never let them get the better of him, despite often facing unfavourable odds. One thing that is abundantly clear is that he is an incredible human being outside of football. What he has done for Egypt, for Africa and for the city of Liverpool is nothing short of remarkable.
I’m really grateful to Melissa for doing the Egyptian King justice with this amazing book. He is still so often disrespected by the mainstream media, but I think that, in the years to come, people will truly realise the impact he made and the lives he changed forever.
This book, although not specifically about Liverpool, is about someone so important to our history and such a big part of our lives. Mo has given us so many special memories through years of passion and dedication that will never, ever be forgotten.
His story is so much more than simply being an incredible footballer. It’s about dreaming big and working incredibly hard to constantly improve and learn. No matter what setbacks he faced, he never let them get the better of him, despite often facing unfavourable odds. One thing that is abundantly clear is that he is an incredible human being outside of football. What he has done for Egypt, for Africa and for the city of Liverpool is nothing short of remarkable.
I’m really grateful to Melissa for doing the Egyptian King justice with this amazing book. He is still so often disrespected by the mainstream media, but I think that, in the years to come, people will truly realise the impact he made and the lives he changed forever.
September 26, 2026
The subject matter is compelling but some of the writing here is very jarring. Very strange turns of phrase, the editor was clearly dialling this one in. As a piece of writing it is not great. Quoting tweets fans will have read for themselves and criticisms made on Sky’s MNF are not revelatory. Passages about his youth in Egypt were interesting but too brief. Admittedly the author says that those loyal to Mo are tight lipped and respect his privacy.
A better biography and one that explores his effect on fans will no doubt be written, with more poetry than is evident here.
The contract wrangling and battles over deals and between agents is not interesting, names are listed as if we are meant to know who all these backroom boys are.
As a general outline biography it works if you are not already a fan and know most of this stuff, having watched it all play out.
Barely 200 pages and poorly edited. The KING deserves better.
Smacks of cashing in.
A better biography and one that explores his effect on fans will no doubt be written, with more poetry than is evident here.
The contract wrangling and battles over deals and between agents is not interesting, names are listed as if we are meant to know who all these backroom boys are.
As a general outline biography it works if you are not already a fan and know most of this stuff, having watched it all play out.
Barely 200 pages and poorly edited. The KING deserves better.
Smacks of cashing in.
October 20, 2026
As a long-time Liverpool fan, I always thought I knew quite a bit about Mo from all the interviews, articles, and videos. However, this book has a lot more, and that alone is a win.
I've been a huge fan of Melissa's writing for over a decade, and this was a joy to read. The narrative structure is terrific; some parts are truly inspiring and in some cases, truly moving. The book does a great job of capturing the efforts and sacrifices of Mo to reach where he did while shouldering the hopes and expectations of a country, a region and a community, despite all the differences, trials and tribulations.
This was a great read! I cannot wait to do the Salah trip from Cairo to Nagrig whenever I go to Egypt!
I've been a huge fan of Melissa's writing for over a decade, and this was a joy to read. The narrative structure is terrific; some parts are truly inspiring and in some cases, truly moving. The book does a great job of capturing the efforts and sacrifices of Mo to reach where he did while shouldering the hopes and expectations of a country, a region and a community, despite all the differences, trials and tribulations.
This was a great read! I cannot wait to do the Salah trip from Cairo to Nagrig whenever I go to Egypt!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews