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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Yara El-Shaboury

‘A crisis involving Salah is a crisis for the nation’: Egypt backs ‘golden child’

Young players at the Mohamed Salah Youth Centre in the Egyptian village of Nagrig
Mohamed Salah dominates the discourse in Egypt, where his influence on the national game is massive. Here, young players arrive at the Mohamed Salah Youth Centre in the Egyptian village of Nagrig. Photograph: Khaled Desouki/AFP/Getty Images

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.”

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