They waited 35 years. An eternity. Since the last coronation celebrated in front of the spans of Anfield, the Red people had no longer known this drunkenness in their cathedral. And yet, at the time of registering this memory in the legend, a gesture came to tarnish the photo. Mohamed Salah, heroic figure of this golden generation, stopped, not to commune with the crowd, but to draw a smartphone – and not just any: a Google Pixel, exhibited like a trophy under the spotlight.
A gesture too well framed to be innocent
The image has gone around the world. Precise. Perfect. Too perfect. So much so that she overshadowed, in some media, the explosion of joy, the addicts, tears. And in a world where every detail counts, it would be naive to believe that this gesture was not premeditated. It was not an impulse of the heart, but a head calculation.
Mohamed Salah is not just any player. It is not just a local idol, it is a tutelary figure for millions of fans in the Middle East, a symbol of success, dignity, loyalty. He who has always embodied a form of romanticism in an increasingly cynical football. And this is where the disappointment resides: see the one who was long perceived as a moral benchmark given in to the sirens of marketing in a moment as sacred.
Salah, faithful but more candid? The gesture that breaks charm
When romanticism gives way to marketing
Football is not dead, but it suffers. When the most beautiful pages are written with the seal of a sponsor, when emotion is calibrated for an advertising campaign, there is reason to wonder. Salah could have immortalize this moment with a child in his arms, a flag in hand, or simply with his family. He preferred product placement.
Admittedly, he is neither the first nor the last to be part of this logic. And it is not a question here of drawing up a trial, even less of questioning what he has brought to the club. But at this precise moment, when the heart of the fans was beating in unison with that of the team, this selfie had a gentle treason taste. The moment should have been pure, it became appropriate.
Perhaps this is that, the real drama of our time: even the heroes begin to think of influencers is that magic has changed camps. And this time, she is no longer on the side of the field.
