Liverpool politician Steve Rotheram has praised Mohamed Salah for his cultural impact on Merseyside in terms of tackling and breaking down Islamophobia.
Before Salah's £34m arrival from Roma last summer, police figures showed that the region had the third-highest increase in recorded hate crimes against mosques in the country, after London and Greater Manchester.
The Egypt international has enjoyed a sensational season at Anfield, scoring 44 goals in just 52 games for the Reds and claiming a number of individual awards including the Premier League Golden Boot and the PFA Fans' Player of the Year gong.
Rotherham, the Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, has likened Salah's impact as a high-profile Muslim to the enduring legacy of John Barnes on the black community in Liverpool 30 years ago.
"To have that breakdown of Islamophobia caused by one person is an absolutely phenomenal achievement," Rotherham told BBC Sport.
"I think what Salah's done is what John Barnes did for the black community in the 80s... his legacy will be much more about what's happened off the field."
A chant by Liverpool fans about Salah includes the line "sitting in the mosque, that's where I want to be", and was praised on social media by the player himself.
