“Every time I step in here, I can’t help but remember how he moved and the way he controlled the ball. It was truly special.”
One of Mohamed Salah’s earliest coaches swings open the brand-new dark green gates of the youth center in Nagrig, a village roughly three hours north of Cairo. This is where it all started for one of the world’s most lethal forwards—a player who helped guide Liverpool to the Premier League title in May.
It was on the streets of Nagrig that a seven-year-old Salah would kick a ball around with his friends, pretending to be Brazil’s Ronaldo, France’s legendary playmaker Zinedine Zidane, or Italian magician Francesco Totti.
“Mohamed was small compared to his teammates, but he could do things even the older boys couldn’t,” says Ghamry Abd El-Hamid El-Saadany, pointing to the artificial pitch now named in Salah’s honor. “His shots were incredibly powerful, and it was clear he had both determination and drive.”
Now 33, Salah is about to enter his ninth season with Liverpool. Since joining in 2017, the winger has scored an astonishing 245 goals in 402 league and cup appearances.
Egypt’s first global football superstar has won every major domestic honor and the Champions League with the Reds, but has yet to lift a trophy for his country.
With the Africa Cup of Nations set for December and the 2026 World Cup on the horizon, BBC Sport traveled to Egypt to explore what Salah means to the football-crazed nation of 115 million people—and how a boy from modest roots became a national icon.
“I still feel my father’s joy when I watch Salah,” says Lamisse El-Sadek at the Dentists Cafe in eastern Cairo. “After Salah joined Liverpool, we used to watch every match on TV together.”
The cafe, named after the original owner’s former profession, is now a gathering spot for Liverpool fans to watch games on a big screen.
Lamisse wears a Liverpool shirt with her father’s name on the back. “He sadly passed away two years ago,” she adds. “Every Liverpool game was the happiest two hours of our week. Even if I had to miss part of the match for school or work, my father would text me minute-by-minute updates.”
“Salah didn’t come from privilege. He worked hard and sacrificed a lot to get where he is. A lot of us see ourselves in him.”
Children in Nagrig, where Salah was born and raised, dream of following in the player’s footsteps.
‘Every Kid Wants to Be Salah’
The small farming village of Nagrig lies in the Egyptian Nile Delta, surrounded by green fields of jasmine and watermelons. Water buffaloes, cows, and donkeys share dirt roads with cars, motorbikes, and horse-drawn carts.
This is where one of the world’s finest and most prolific forwards—affectionately known as the ‘Egyptian King’—spent his early years.
“Salah’s family is the foundation and secret behind his success,” adds El-Saadany, who calls himself Salah’s first coach after mentoring him when he was eight. “They still live here with humility, values, and respect. That’s one reason people love them so much.”
The youth center has recently received an impressive upgrade in honor of the village’s most famous son, and the green pitch would not look out of place at a professional training ground.
“They [Salah’s family] made many sacrifices when he was young,” says El-Saadany, standing next to a massive photograph behind one of the goals showing Salah with the Champions League trophy. “They were incredibly supportive from the very beginning.”
