A gang of thieves have been caught by police in Cairo using masks of Mohamed Salah to disguise their identities.
An armed gang of four men was arrested while attempting to rob a store on Hassanein Heikal Street, in the Nasr City neighbourhood of the Egyptian capital. All four of the robbers covered their face using masks of the Liverpool forward, who is a huge star in his home country.
The gang tried to escape after being approached by security forces but were eventually apprehended.
Salah is Egypt’s biggest domestic sports star, and the key player for the national team with 41 goals in 67 games for his country. His standing has only increased since his move to Liverpool in 2017, and he has been in the news recently following comments from a former coach of the national team.
Former assistant coach Hany Ramzy claimed last week that in 2018, Salah told him he had received an offer from Real Madrid.
Ramzy said the offer was a good one, but that Salah had turned it down as he was happy in Liverpool. Only two months later, Madrid beat Liverpool in the Champions League final, with Salah’s early injury a key moment in the game.
However, Salah’s agent Ramy Abbas has since dismissed Ramzy’s claims as false, saying his client wouldn’t have discussed such career plans with the coach.
Salah frequently finds himself linked with moves to some of Europe’s biggest clubs, with the Clasico pair of Madrid and Barcelona often reported to be interested in his services. For his own part, Salah himself recently laughed off suggestions he could be on his way out of Anfield, as Liverpool look to get their first league title in 30 years over the line.
Responding to an Instagram post from Sky Sports asking fans ‘Keep or Sell?’ regarding Salah, he simply replied with three laughing emojis in the comments.
Agent Abbas noted his displeasure on Twitter, with statistics underlining Salah’s importance to Liverpool.
“In 2018/2019, Salah was the team’s top scorer in both the Premier League, and the Champions League," Abbas tweeted.
"This season, Salah is the team’s top scorer in both the Premier League, and the Champions League," he continued. "Since joining Liverpool in 2017, Salah has missed out on zero Golden Boots, and he's not a CF.”