Mohamed Salah continues to wow football supporters across the globe this season, and it's fair to say no one saw it coming.
Salah, of course, had a 12-month spell at Chelsea under José Mourinho, making 19 appearances and scoring just two goals in all competitions, before being farmed out on loan to Fiorentina and then AS Roma.
The latter signed him permanently at the start of last season, and Liverpool were widely ridiculed for splashing out £36m to bring him to Anfield from the Romans given his previous Premier League failure.
But it's Salah who has had the last laugh, striking 43 times in 47 games for the Reds across the board, earning him the PFA Player of the Year award, and even fuelling talk of a potential Ballon d'Or challenge.
He's inspired Jurgen Klopp's men to the brink of the Champions League final too, scoring two and making a further two against his former club Roma in a 5-2 victory on Merseyside.
Mourinho has been subsequently mocked by most for letting Salah go, but he insisted that it was Chelsea's decision and nothing to do with him.
"And when they say that I was the one that sold him it is a lie," he stated. "I bought him. I agreed to send him on loan, I thought it was necessary.
"So the decision to send him on loan was a decision we made collectively, but after that, the decision to sell him and to use that money to buy another player wasn’t mine."
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Strong words from Mourinho, and laying the blame entirely on Chelsea won't have pleased Blues supporters in the slightest.
'The Special One' also sold Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku while at Stamford Bridge, who've obviously gone on to prove their ability as leading players in the Premier League.
And Chelsea's current boss, Antonio Conte, has now had his say on the matter.
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The Italian believes that they can't regret selling Salah because he has totally developed beyond what anyone could have ever expected from him.
"This is not so simple because I think that we have to compare Salah from over four or five years ago, not with this Salah," he started.
"The Salah in the present he improved a lot and developed a lot. He developed his football and the experience in Italy was very important for him.
"Now I am sure he is a different player compared to the past and for that reason it is difficult to have this comparison with this player."
FBL-ENG-FACUP-CHELSEA-SOUTHAMPTON
The former Juventus manager does have a point, to be fair.
Anyone who predicted Salah's meteoric rise at Liverpool must have a serious eye for talent, and certainly no one expected him to be close to breaking the club's record for most goals in a season.
He needs just five more in his remaining games, with at least four to do it in, to smash Ian Rush's record.
If he can keep this form up in the future, there's every chance he could be winning multiple Ballon d'Ors.
Salah, of course, had a 12-month spell at Chelsea under José Mourinho, making 19 appearances and scoring just two goals in all competitions, before being farmed out on loan to Fiorentina and then AS Roma.
The latter signed him permanently at the start of last season, and Liverpool were widely ridiculed for splashing out £36m to bring him to Anfield from the Romans given his previous Premier League failure.
But it's Salah who has had the last laugh, striking 43 times in 47 games for the Reds across the board, earning him the PFA Player of the Year award, and even fuelling talk of a potential Ballon d'Or challenge.
He's inspired Jurgen Klopp's men to the brink of the Champions League final too, scoring two and making a further two against his former club Roma in a 5-2 victory on Merseyside.
Mourinho has been subsequently mocked by most for letting Salah go, but he insisted that it was Chelsea's decision and nothing to do with him.
"And when they say that I was the one that sold him it is a lie," he stated. "I bought him. I agreed to send him on loan, I thought it was necessary.
"So the decision to send him on loan was a decision we made collectively, but after that, the decision to sell him and to use that money to buy another player wasn’t mine."
Strong words from Mourinho, and laying the blame entirely on Chelsea won't have pleased Blues supporters in the slightest.
'The Special One' also sold Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku while at Stamford Bridge, who've obviously gone on to prove their ability as leading players in the Premier League.
And Chelsea's current boss, Antonio Conte, has now had his say on the matter.
The Italian believes that they can't regret selling Salah because he has totally developed beyond what anyone could have ever expected from him.
"This is not so simple because I think that we have to compare Salah from over four or five years ago, not with this Salah," he started.
"The Salah in the present he improved a lot and developed a lot. He developed his football and the experience in Italy was very important for him.
"Now I am sure he is a different player compared to the past and for that reason it is difficult to have this comparison with this player."
FBL-ENG-FACUP-CHELSEA-SOUTHAMPTON
The former Juventus manager does have a point, to be fair.
Anyone who predicted Salah's meteoric rise at Liverpool must have a serious eye for talent, and certainly no one expected him to be close to breaking the club's record for most goals in a season.
He needs just five more in his remaining games, with at least four to do it in, to smash Ian Rush's record.
If he can keep this form up in the future, there's every chance he could be winning multiple Ballon d'Ors.
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