Salah started out playing for local youth teams. He names Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane and Francesco Totti as his childhood idols. In 2006, he joined the youth team of Al Mokawloon aged 14 after being spotted by a scout who had originally come to watch another child play but was distracted by Salah. Salah frequently had to miss school to make the 3 hour journey to training. When Salah was 15 he was noticed by then first team manager Mohamed Radwan, who moved him to the senior squad immediately. Salah had to be given a special diet and training program due to his muscles not being fully formed because of his young age. He made his senior team debut in the Egyptian Premier League coming on as a substitute on 3 May 2010 in a 1–1 away draw against El Mansoura. During the 2010–11 season Salah continued earning minutes on the pitch, eventually becoming a regular in the team. Even though he was getting regular game time, Salah struggled to score. In the dressing room after matches he would sometimes be in tears because of this, and Radwan says it only motivated him to become better. He scored his first goal for them on 25 December 2010 in a 1–1 away draw against Al Ahly. He remained a regular for Al Mokawloon, appearing in every game of the 2011–12 season. Following the Port Said Stadium riot on 1 February 2012, the Egyptian Premier League was suspended, and on 10 March 2012, the Egyptian Football Association announced their decision to cancel the remainder of the season.