09 July 2023 , 06:00
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Steven Gerrard once confessed he hoped Mohamed Salah would go on to "embarrass" his Champions League goal record for Liverpool.
The iconic former Reds midfielder certainly got his wish, with Salah going on to become Liverpool's all-time leading goalscorer and pulling away from Gerrard's tally by some distance. Over the course of his 17-year Anfield stay, Gerrard bagged 21 Champions League strikes for his boyhood club. In just three-and-a-half seasons at the club, Salah had already managed to match that total.
Speaking back in late 2020 when Salah had just equalled his record with a goal against Atalanta, Gerrard was adamant he wanted the Egypt international to surpass his own total.
"Records are there to be broken, of course, they are," the then-Rangers manager explained. "I was very proud last night to see Mo Salah equal my scoring record for Liverpool in Europe, it was only a matter of time. I honestly think he’ll go on and embarrass my record — and I hope that he does."
At the time of his comments, Gerrard was still at the helm of the Scottish giants and had Alfredo Morelos leading the line, who coincidentally had broken Rangers' Champions League goal record the week prior, also bettering a tally of 21 in the process.
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"Mo Salah and Alfredo Morelos go about their business always being hungry for goals," said Gerrard. "My job for Liverpool was slightly different. There is nothing better than seeing someone going for a record and then smashing it to pieces."
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Steven Gerrard is a keen admirer of Mohamed Salah (OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)Salah has gone on to do exactly that, with the former Chelsea forward now sitting on exactly double the amount of Champions League goals Gerrard notched in the red of Liverpool with 42 to his name.
Unlike Salah, Gerrard also represented the Reds in the UEFA Cup and its rebranded competition the Europa League. Factoring in goals scored in those tournaments, the ex-England ace's record actually sits at 41.
This means that even with his goals in other European competitions, Gerrard still can't quite match Salah's overall tally.
While Salah has not yet played a Europa League match for the Reds, he is gearing up to do so for the very first time after Liverpool missed out on Champions League qualification last term following a poor start to the league campaign that left Jurgen Klopp's men with too big of a mountain to climb.
Once Liverpool's place in the Europa League had been confirmed, Salah made his feelings on the matter clear via Twitter.
"I’m totally devastated,” he wrote to his 18 million followers. “There’s absolutely no excuse for this. We had everything we needed to make it to next year’s Champions League and we failed. We are Liverpool and qualifying to the competition is the bare minimum. I am sorry but it’s too soon for an uplifting or optimistic post. We let you and ourselves down."