Christian Salem

During the 2017 preseason, senior coach, Simon Goodwin, earmarked a move into the midfield for Salem in the upcoming season, however, he suffered a mishap during preseason training, in which he received his third concussion in 2016 due to a brick in his backpack hitting his head during a preseason camp in December. Despite the injury, he returned to full fitness in time for the start of the season and played in the opening round match against St Kilda at Etihad Stadium. The next week in the twenty-two point win against Carlton at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, he recorded a career-high thirty-one disposals, in addition to seven marks, seven rebound 50s, three tackles and a goal, to be named the best player on the field by AFL Media journalist, Ben Collins. In what was labelled his breakthrough game by Herald Sun reporter, Jay Clark, he received the maximum three Brownlow Medal votes, meaning he was adjudged the best player on the ground by the field umpires.

Due to his Lebanese background, he was named one of the AFL's multicultural ambassadors during the 2017 season.

After playing his debut season in the forward line and a majority of matches as the substitute, Salem changed positions in 2015 and played predominantly on the half-back line. Playing the first seven matches of the season, he injured his hamstring in the round seven loss to Hawthorn and was initially ruled out for a month, however, after injuring his other hamstring, he ultimately missed two months and returned from injury playing in the VFL in round sixteen, before returning to the senior side in round twenty-one in the twenty-three point loss against Carlton at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. He played the remainder of the season and finished with ten matches overall.

Salem was rated highly heading into the 2013 AFL draft and was predicted to be drafted inside the top ten due to his decision making and kicking precision, in addition, he drew comparisons to Luke Hodge, Nick Dal Santo and Dan Hannebery.

Salem was recruited by the Melbourne Football Club with their first selection and ninth overall in the 2013 national draft. During the pre-season, he suffered from a thyroid issue which saw him lose six kilograms in the month following the draft. He played the start of the season in the Victorian Football League (VFL) for Melbourne's affiliate team, the Casey Scorpions, and after strong form in the VFL, including a thirty-two possession game in the VFL round three match against Frankston at Frankston Park, he made his AFL debut a week later in the thirty-one point loss against Sydney at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in round six. In his seventh match, Salem was pivotal in Melbourne's comeback victory against Essendon in round thirteen, after marking the ball thirty metres directly in front of goal, he kicked the winning goal with nineteen seconds left in the match, giving Melbourne a one-point lead. He finished his debut season with twelve matches and senior Herald Sun football writer, Jay Clark, wrote he had the potential to become one of Melbourne's best players.

Salem played his junior career with the Hampton Rovers Football Club and played for the Sandringham Dragons in the TAC Cup in both 2012 and 2013. He was selected to play for Victoria Metro in the 2012 AFL Under 18 Championships as a bottom-aged player and played in the winning final, kicking two goals. He received a scholarship through the AIS-AFL Academy as part of their level two squad in the 2012 intake, and travelled to Europe for two weeks in 2013. He received mid-year state honours for the second consecutive year and played for Victoria Metro in the 2013 AFL Under 18 Championships.

Christian Salem (born 15 July 1995) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A defender, 1.81 metres (5 ft 11 in) tall and weighing 83 kilograms (183 lb), Salem plays primarily as a half-back flanker, with the ability to push into the midfield and forward line. He was recognised as a talented footballer at a young age when he represented Victoria at under 12 level. He played top-level football early when he played in both the TAC Cup and AFL Under 18 Championships as a bottom-aged player. His achievements as a junior saw him selected with the ninth pick in the 2013 AFL draft by the Melbourne Football Club and he made his AFL debut during the 2014 season.