Over the last 12 months in Mohamed Salah's career, reminders have been everywhere that nothing lasts forever.
For the first time, his mutual love-in with Liverpool, a relationship that has endured for over eight years has begun to look frayed, while the attacker's performances on the pitch have led to acknowledgements that even his supreme stamina and physique are not immune to father time.
His standing in the pantheon of the Reds' greatest players -- based at least on his performances and numbers -- looks untouchable, with the North African rewriting expectations at Anfield since his arrival in 2017.
This month, he broke the record for the most goal involvements for a single player at one club in the Premier League era, while he is also Liverpool's all-time highest Prem goalscorer and holds the record for the most goals and assists combined in a single PL season.
No one has scored more in continental competitions in the Reds' history than the veteran forward, while never before has a Liverpool player registered over 20 goals in eight consecutive campaigns.
Indeed, articles could be filled with a list of the records Salah's broken on Merseyside.
There have also been the honours, and while he won't depart Anfield as decorated as some of the club's legends from the 70s and 80s, his role in two Premier League triumphs -- ending the club's three-decade wait in 2020, and then breaking Manchester City's hegemony last season -- have been the highlights of this last elite decade in the club's history.
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There have also been the Champions League campaigns, reaching three finals, including the victory over Tottenham Hotspur in 2019, with Salah consistently influential in the latter stages of Europe's premier club competition.
Who knows, perhaps there will be further gongs and glories to come before the 33-year-old eventually departs Anfield, whether that be in 2026 or 2027.
Questions can be asked whether his recent outburst against Arne Slot and the club, coming in the aftermath of the Reds' 3-3 draw with Leeds United, will ultimately dent the affection Salah is held in by the Liverpool fans.
Whereas once it might have been possible that he would be revered right alongside Steven Gerrard, who stayed loyal despite covetous eyes outside the club, and Kenny Dalglish, whose leadership in the aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster earned him an eternal place in the city's heart, there's distance now between the Egyptian and some portions of the club's fanbase, and it remains to be seen whether time will heal these fresh wounds.
His longevity and loyalty, however, cannot be disputed, with only 13 players across the Premier League currently having served longer for their current club than Salah.
He's become part of the furniture at the club, and regardless of the manner of his departure, the place will never be the same again after that chapter has been closed. When it comes to international football, however, there's a lingering sense that Salah's greatest achievement and crowning glory is still ahead of him.
His performances at his club make him a global superstar, and while he's on course to end his career as the country's all time top scorer -- even if he's currently behind national team head coach Hossam Hassan -- he is still missing that one defining moment as a Pharaohs player.
It's a stark contrast from Egyptian teams of the past, with the glorious three-in-a-row generation of 2006-2010 failing to match their successes on the continent with glories off it.
That collection of players became the only team in history to win three Africa Cup of Nations titles in a row, and while many secured triumphs aplenty with Al Ahly across Egyptian and continental club competitions, their achievements beyond the continent were minor.
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They failed to reach either the 2006 or 2010 World Cups, while the embers of that generation were extinguished emphatically by Ghana in 2013 as their bid to reach the 2014 tournament were shattered, while their various attempts to succeed outside of Egypt largely failed.
Essam El-Hadary only spent one season in Europe with Sion before returning to Egypt, while Wael Gomaa underwent a trial at Blackburn Rovers but didn't ultimately sign a contract.
Hossam Ghaly and Mido frittered away their talent amidst disciplinary and fitness issues, while Ibrahim Said (zero games at Everton), Ahmed Fathy (relegated with Sheffield United), Mohamed Shawky (relegated with Middlesbrough), Gedo failed to make much of a positive impression in England.
Several players found some form in the Turkish league, Ahmed Hassan won a league title in Belgium, while Hossam Hassan himself briefly flirted with Greece and Switzerland, but let's be honest, none of that collection of players came anywhere close to achieving anything like Salah has done at the highest levels of club football.
Yet their achievements in Africa, at the Nations Cup, are unparalleled, and have cemented their place as being the finest generation of African players we've ever seen. Perhaps Salah's greatest achievement with the red of Egypt was his inspirational role in dragging the national side to the World Cup in 2018, their first such campaign in 28 years.
He top scored in African qualification with five goals across the Pharaohs' six matches, including winners against Uganda and Congo-Brazzaville to send Egypt through. His stoppage-time penalty late against the Congolese in October 2017, after the visitors had scored an 87th-minute equaliser that looked to have jeopardised qualification, was greeted with nation-wide celebrations and a night of partying across the country.
The one-legged supporter jumping out of his wheelchair to celebrate Salah's late winner, somersaulting on the Alexandria turf, encapsulated the sense that a miracle had been realised and that in the Liverpool man, a messianic figure had returned to inspire the North Africans to the promised land.
Honestly, that's as good as it's ever got for Salah with the national side.
The 2018 World Cup proved to be personal misery for him as injury in the Champions League final -- sustained at the hands of Sergio Ramos -- prevented him from truly making an impact at the tournament, with Egypt subsequently missing out on the 2022 edition.
While he's reached two AFCON finals - in 2017 and 2021 -- both finals ultimately passed him by, with the latter a particularly heartbreaking affair, with Salah watching on as Liverpool teammate Sadio Mane converted the decisive spotkick, having not taken one of the penalties in the shootout himself.
In both of those competitions, he was named in the Team of the Tournament, and it's true that there were key goals, in the semi against Burkina Faso in 2017, the group-stage winner against Ghana, a second-half winner against Guinea-Bissau four years later to secure a 1-0 triumph, but Salah hardly showed anything close to his best form on either occasion.
Indeed, across both tournaments, Egypt scored nine goals in 14 matches, only once (after extra time) scoring more than once in a game. We didn't see a truly exhilarating Pharaohs-and-Salah performance at either AFCON, with the North Africans eking their way to the final rather than blazing a route to the continent's summit.
Things were more entertaining on home soil in 2021, but that tournament proved to be a catastrophe for Salah and Egypt as they were dumped out in the Last 16 by South Africa during a humiliating night in Cairo, while they failed to win in their four matches last time around and fell at the same stage.
Salah's relationship with the Nations Cup has been unfulfilling and with little in the way of the majesty and magnificence that has characterised his Liverpool career -- but there's still time.
While his star may be on the wane, this tournament represents a final golden opportunity for Salah to genuinely leave his mark on a Nations Cup, and having had a hand in seven goals in the Prem so far -- albeit in testing circumstances at Liverpool -- he still has the capacity to have a devastating impact in Morocco.
As far as club level impact at the top end of football goes, no Egyptian player in history can touch Salah's achievements, but if he doesn't ignite over the next month, his meagre international return will be a clear failing in his legacy.