Former Egypt boss Hassan Shehata has claimed " Mohamed Salah contributed nothing for the national team" as he lamented the fact he was no longer involved in the national set-up.
Shehata led his country to three consecutive Africa Cup of Nations victories between 2006 and 2010 - a record that still exists. Yet in the six tournaments since, the nation has fallen short - losing in the final in 2017 and 2021. Liverpool star Salah was present for both those losses.
Five years ago it was Cameroon who stopped them whilst more recently it was Sadio Mane's Senegal who thwarted their attempts, meaning Salah remains without an international title. He's enjoyed a stellar career at Anfield, claiming domestic and European honours as well as individual accolades.
As a result Shehata has questioned the 30-year-old's contributions whilst also taking issue with the appointment of current boss Carlos Queiroz, who was hired due to a connection with Salah.
He said on a Sada El-Balad TV channel: “I have been out of the picture for a while and I don’t know why. When you think about it, I won three consecutive AFCON titles then got sacked, and after that, I was always treated like my days were over. Foreign coaches are given all they want, they are paid well and they get all they ask for.
“Ehab Galal took charge at the wrong time, he didn’t have enough time to prepare his players. I hope he doesn’t lose confidence, no other manager would have succeeded in these circumstances. Queiroz was different from Cuper, but he came through a player’s agent, which is not something the EFA should do.
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“The player is Mohamed Salah, and I wasn’t convinced about choosing Queiroz from the beginning. Salah is a great player, he’s done so much abroad and he’s one of the world’s biggest stars. But he didn’t do anything for the Egyptian national team, he should have done more.”
Salah's international woes have only been furthered since the AFCON following Egypt's failure to qualify for this winter's World Cup. They lost out to Senegal once again in qualifying with the Liverpool star missing from the spot in a shootout.
Salah then sparked rumours that he may call time on his Egypt career, stating: "I am honoured that I played with you and I am very proud to play with you whether I am with you or not in the future". The forward will have a chance at redemption in 2023 with the next Africa Cup of Nations taking place in the Ivory Coast.
