In the village of Nagrig, three hours north of Cairo, a pair of dark green gates swing open to reveal the youth centre where Mohamed Salah first began playing football.
For many locals, this is more than just a sports facility—it is a monument to the boy who became Egypt’s greatest-ever footballer.
“Whenever I walk in here, I can’t help but recall how he used to move and the way he controlled the ball. It was something else,” says Ghamry Abd El-Hamid El-Saadany, one of Salah’s early coaches, pointing toward the artificial pitch now named in his honour.
It was on the dusty streets of Nagrig that a seven-year-old Salah first mimicked the moves of Brazil’s Ronaldo, France’s Zinedine Zidane, and Italy’s Francesco Totti.
Despite being smaller than his teammates, his shots carried immense power and his determination set him apart. “Mohamed was doing things even the older boys couldn’t manage,” El-Saadany recalls.
Today, Salah stands as Egypt’s first global football superstar. Now 33, he is about to embark on his ninth season with Liverpool, where he has scored an astonishing 245 goals in 402 appearances since joining in 2017.
He has won every domestic honour and the Champions League with the club, cementing his place among the Premier League’s all-time greats.
Yet despite his individual and club triumphs, success with the Egyptian national team has remained elusive. With the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) approaching in December and the 2026 World Cup on the horizon, Egyptians are once again pinning their hopes on their most celebrated player.
In Cairo, the impact of Salah extends far beyond football. At the Dentists Cafe, a popular gathering place for Liverpool fans, Lamisse El-Sadek wears her Liverpool shirt proudly, with her late father’s name on the back.
“After Salah joined Liverpool, we used to watch every match together,” she says. “Even if I missed some of the game, my father would send me minute-by-minute updates.”
For Lamisse and countless others, Salah is not only a footballer but a source of joy, unity, and personal connection. “Salah didn’t come from privilege. He really worked hard and sacrificed a lot to reach where he is now. A lot of us see ourselves in him,” she adds.
In a country of 115 million football-mad people, Salah’s journey is both inspirational and symbolic. His rise from a humble village to global stardom represents the possibility of overcoming adversity and achieving greatness through determination.
As the AFCON looms, Egyptians know that football glory remains incomplete without a major trophy for the national team. Yet regardless of what the future holds, Salah’s legacy is already secure: he is not just Egypt’s finest footballer, but a national icon whose story continues to inspire millions.
