“I’ve not met him yet, but I would certainly love to” - Magnus Carlsen reveals admiration for Mo Salah, keen to play chess against the Liverpool star

Liverpool star Mohamed Salah's fandom transcends sports, with chess great Magnus Carlsen speaking out about his admiration for the Egyptian. The grandmaster spoke about how he would love to meet the 32-year-old forward.

The admiration goes both ways, though, with the Liverpool ace admitting last year about his "addiction to chess". Mohamed Salah, who has a rating of 1400 on Chess.com, praised his own game but stopped short of comparing himself with Carlsen.

"I’m not Magnus, but I’m good," Salah is quoted by the Guardian as saying.

He admitted that he doesn't stand a chance against Carlsen but expressed his wish of playing with the player many consider to be the greatest chess player in history.

"No one has a chance with Magnus. But hopefully we will play one day," Salah revealed.

Magnus Carlsen was asked by the Observer about playing against the Liverpool forward, to which he replied positively.

"I’m a huge football fan and definitely a fan of Salah. I’ve not met him yet, but I would certainly love to – as well as other sports people who I admire who play chess," Carlsen said.

Magnus Carlsen's love for football goes beyond just watching the sport. He's an active participant in fantasy football with his teams being the talk of the FPL world often.

His tactical nous is admired in FPL circles, largely due to his impressive 10th-placed finish three seasons ago. In 2020, Carlsen briefly topped the world ranking before ending the season ranked 10th.

Speaking about his performances this season, Carlsen admitted that things aren't going as well.

"It’s horrible. I don’t have Erling Haaland. I’m a bit of a casual these days," a smiling Carlsen said.

Carlsen is in London participating in the Global Chess League, where he's representing Alpine SG Pipers.

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Carlsen compares Liverpool's Alexander-Arnold with Arsenal's Martin Odegaard

Mohamed Salah is not the only footballer who has admitted his love for chess. His Liverpool teammate Trent Alexander-Arnold is also a fan of the game, while England's Harry Kane and Anthony Gordon have all spoken about their love of chess.

In 2018, Alexander-Arnold faced chess great Magnus Carlsen, who beat the full-back with ease. In a game that lasted five minutes, the Norwegian came out on top, as expected, in 17 moves.

When asked if any other footballer would fare better than the Liverpool vice-captain, Carlsen suggested Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard might do better.

"Martin Odegaard plays a little bit. He was playing a lot for a while, and then not so much. He’s not a bad player, but he’s kind of private about it," the 33-year-old said.

Carlsen added that he has faced a lot of sportspeople in chess but is yet to encounter anyone that gave him a run for his money.

"As for the best [footballer at chess], I don’t know. There are a lot of decent players. But I don’t know if there are any very good players among the sports people I have faced," Carlsen said.

Chess as a tool to succeed in football is propagated by Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca. The Italian has written a 7,000-word thesis on how chess can help football coaches by training their minds.