Mohamed Salah’s stature in Egypt means his every move dominates public discourse. It was therefore entirely predictable that the forward’s comments after Liverpool’s 3-3 draw at Leeds – where he was relegated to the bench for a third consecutive game – would become the singular, all-consuming topic across his homeland’s sports media.
“Egyptian media was always going to stand by Salah,” says the Egyptian journalist and co-founder of the sports website KingFut, Adam Moustafa. “When you look at the content over the last five years or so of Egyptian football, 60-70% has been based around him. He’s a nique status that we’ve never had, for someone abroad to be so successful. He’s the golden child of Egypt.”