“ Money is not all “: the hometown of Mohamed Salah celebrates while Liverpool is assaulting the title of the League

The ball was round and the match lasted 90 minutes. The stadium was packed in the brim. But while there were 22 players on the field, for the residents of the small village of Delta du Nil, Nagrig, only one really counted.

In his hometown, Mohamed Salah – affectionately known as Mo and “Egyptian King” – is not only a recorded football player. He is a favorite benefactor, friend and son.

Arriving at the Petit Café El-Alemy by the city 15 minutes after the start of the match with an attentive police escort, so Tardy, accompanying the Euronews on a trip, the image of Salah was so omnipresent that she was impossible to miss.

The El -Alemy – which means “global” in Arabic – is a modest semi -permanent establishment belonging to the cousin of Salah, Wael. Inside, the joint is decorated with banners, flags and banners in the red of Liverpool sprinkled with yellow. The hundreds of Salah photos were much more obvious, including one of his face bunk in the sphinx.

However, coffee was relatively empty. Tottenham had marked three minutes earlier – a simple head of a corner by one of the former Liverpool players, Dominic Solanke – and the chances of LFC to guarantee the title of Premier League that day seemed to be in danger.

Back in Nagrig, Wael was held without disruption, sipping spicy coffee and mint tea. “Football is in his blood,” he said, radiating with pride and always confident that his cousin would bring the title to Liverpool.

Fields in the field

In a country where 95% of the population of 113 million people lives only 5% of land, urbanization encroaches on most fertile land. However, Nagrig remains nestled in green fields, pushing jasmine and watermelons for generations.

It still depends strongly on agriculture and mayor Maher Sontiya estimates that two thirds of its residents are still suffering from poverty. It was Salah's theater of childhood, growing up in the 1990s.

A few minutes after reaching 1-0 in Tottenham, Luiz Diaz equalized for Liverpool, and a few other Nagrig residents sank, apparently as interested in the journalist who came to watch the match with them as by their friend on the big television.

One of them was Ahmed, a childhood friend and “brother” of Mo Salah.

“We were always at the club of young locals,” recalls Ahmed on a coffee and a cigarette. “Mohamed was still playing football. Our life was on football. “

“Ahmed used to sit with him. He gave him an elevator,” cut Wael behind a coffee machine in the back room.

The two recalled how the now recognized player should take four or five minibuses several times a week as adolescent to cross the 120 kilometers to a training ground in the suburbs of the city of Nasr in the west of Cairo, where he began his professional career in 2006.

“Every 40 kilometers should change,” recalls Wael.

A calm blow rings in the coffee, drowned by a tractor bearing a mountain of watermelons. Alexis Mac Allister had just put Liverpool in the lead, but the crowd saved their cheers for their favorite attacker.

Hasan, who had traveled from the north of the city of Alexandria to watch the match, said that he had set up a group of fans for Salah very early this ball to hundreds of thousands of followers. Soon he became a friend with the man himself.

“When Mohamed Salah went to Basel, when he was a discreet player, it was very strange,” he explains. The international career of Saleh began in 2012 at the Swiss Club, where he helped to propel them to national domination.

Hasan remembers a moment of escape for the Egyptian superstar at the club. “It was this random team, yet Mohamed Salah scored a goal against Chelsea.”

“At the time, it was something very special in my opinion: how did this Egyptian guy did this? How did he have this unique opportunity to score a goal against a Premier League club?”

Shortly after, Salah moved to Chelsea, but there was only one of the many young talents that the London Club – held by the Russian Russian oligarch at the time – acquired from all over the world.

After an incursion of loans to Italian clubs and a transfer to Roma, Salah finally settled in Liverpool in 2017, where he quickly became an out -of -competition striker for the club, marking more than 180 goals to date.

It's not a matter of money

Saleh's friends and family see this as the ultimate move to cement the career of a man who lives and breathes football.

“The English Premier League is the largest league in the world and we are convinced that it is the most difficult league in the world,” said Wael, bringing fresh coffee.

While in recent months, there have been doubts about the question of knowing if Salah, now in the thirties, was going on a high and would go to another league and a potentially more lucrative contract – as has become commonplace with stars of his caliber seeking to see their career – Wael and his friends were convinced that this is where Mo would remain.

Although they are almost seven years older than the average premier League player, Nagrig residents believe that Salah is far from over. “He has just signed for two years with Liverpool. He will not retire now. Mohamed will play football until the age of 40,” said Ahmed.

Wael was also categorical that his cousin would not be tempted by the vast sums of money offered by clubs near Saudi Arabia – at least not yet.

“Money is not all. No. Mohamed's principle has never been money from the start,” Wael said a trait of his education in Nagrig.

In particular, Salah would have earned 21 million euros this year and is now the second best paid player in the Premier League, after Erling Haaland from Manchester City. However, the alleged offer of Saudi Arabia at the start of this year would have easily doubled its income, then some.

The ever increasing crowd applauded a little stronger while Cody Gakpo scores a third goal for Liverpool, and the Anfield stadium – with some 60,000 LFC fans all wearing red – bounced.

The title was firmly returning to Liverpool's grip, but the crowd of Nagrig was still agitated, waiting for their man to sealed the agreement.

“ The greatest dream in the minds of children ''

While people settle in for the second half, the conversation turned away from the effects that the village had on Mo Salah at the impact he had on Nagrig.

“Everyone now wants their children to play football,” said one of their friends to say the sound of the TV.

“He is the biggest dream in the minds of children here and has facilitated their life. His name is synonymous with Nagrig. Now, his name is well known, Nagrig has reached the world.”

However, some always wonder how the new fame in the village could be at the surface level. “This is the first time that I spoke to a stranger,” said Ahmed.

“Many people come here to take photos. No one has told us about his friends. ”

The Liverpool striker also returned more directly to his hometown. “The construction of the Al-Azhar Institute, the student education institute, was funded by Salah. This cost it more than 17 million Egyptian pounds (€ 300,000), and Mohammed in fact built the ambulance unit,” said Mayor Maher Sontiya in Euronews.

According to the passionate football player, Sontiya could not attend the collection due to a knee operation. However, the mayor, who had been in office for more than a decade, wanted to highlight the aid of Salah to the region.

“Mohamed donated two plots of land for the sewer station and is currently building the Nagrig post office,” he radiated. “Mohamed Salah Charitable Foundation pays a monthly allowance to the families of the orphans, widows and divorced within the governorate.

And then it came. It was the 63rd minute, the crowd of the coffee finally broke out when their man picked up an incisive pass, swept away suddenly on the left and was stolen from a fourth goal in front of the helpless goalkeeper of Tottenham. Even the police escort has strengthened.

The goal also made Salah the top scorer born abroad of the Premier League.

Six minutes later, the Destiny Udogy of the Spurs pushed the advance of Liverpool to 5-1 with a punitive goal, extended by the MO. The Premier League is as good as Won. In Liverpool, red balloons were taken to the fields of the stands by the English breeze. By discussing impatiently, Nagrig's crowd was jubilant.

While the final whistle in Anfield and Liverpool could reproduce easily during their Premier League victory, the police caught their cafe door watches. They tired and it was time to leave.

Approaching Wael to pay for teas and cafes, he laughs and shook his head, firmly refusing the money.

“It's Nagrig. Money is not all.”

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