Mohamed Salah has reacted to the comparisons made between his Egypt teammate Omar Marmoush and himself.
Recently, Marmoush, who has been linked with Liverpool, has been frequently compared to Salah in the media. According to Salah, these comparisons could harm Marmoush, who is still at a crucial stage in his career.
At just 25 years old, Marmoush has made a significant leap this season, scoring 11 goals and providing 7 assists in 10 Bundesliga matches. Salah believes that such comparisons could place unnecessary pressure on Marmoush at this point in his career.
Speaking at the Sharjah International Book Fair, Salah discussed the matter and also talked about how reading has positively influenced a footballer’s mindset.
“There are not many players from Egypt and the Arab countries who went to Europe and fought for success, and Marmoush is one of them,” Salah said.
“I see that he has great potential, he is an important player for his team and the national team, I want to stay away from him the idea of comparisons to make his life easier.”
Salah added, “I want people to stop comparing him to me, by saying that he will be the new Salah and will do what I did and overcome. That will put him under pressure all the time and does not help the player.”
“It will put him in comparison with a player who has been very successful over the past years, but he is still starting his career. Let him live his experience and be happy with it, comparisons will not help him, let him do something of his own and in his direction away from my career.”
Reflecting on his own journey, Salah recalled how reading began to shape his mindset after he left Egypt for Basel.
“Since I left Egypt to go to Basel, when I started reading, the first thing that came to my head is the European player, why does he go to training before its time and go to the gym and devote their lives to football? I asked myself why they do that.”
“There is a difference between Egyptian, Arab, and European players, so I wanted to succeed like them, and then I wanted to achieve greater success than them so that people would say that there is a player from the Arab world who was able to outperform the rest of the players.”
Salah also noted, “I started to take a deeper interest in reading and culture during my time playing for Chelsea. It wasn’t the best experience of my career, but it pushed me to defy circumstances and change my reality. Reading, in turn, has greatly influenced my way of thinking.”
