Mo Salah: Egyptian king

The Documentary Podcast

BBC

Society & Culture, Documentary, Personal Journals

4.3 • 2.6K Ratings

🗓️ 13 August 2025

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Mo Salah is one of Egypt's biggest and highly influential footballing icons. John Bennett visit his home village of Nagrig to meet the people who helped shape his early career and see the impact he still has on his local community. He explores the journey Salah took from Nagrig to Cairo to help achieve his dreams and gain an insight from those who have worked with him closely about what has driven him to global superstardom. And with the Africa Cup of Nations and a World Cup to come over the next 12 months, we assess whether Salah needs success with the Egyptian national team to cement his status in his homeland.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, I'm John Bennett, and in this sports world special for the documentary from the BBC World Service, I'm in Egypt's capital city, Cairo, at the start of a hugely significant period of time in the career of this country's biggest sports star, Mohammed Sala.
0:20.3	He's won everything there is to win with his English Premier League club Liverpool.
0:24.4	But Sala has never lifted a trophy with Egypt's national team.
0:29.0	So ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations and then a World Cup in the space of six months,
0:33.6	we're here to find out more about Salah's Egyptian football journey.
0:37.9	The impact he's had on this country and the pressure he's under to deliver football success for his nation.
0:44.9	This is Mohammed Salah, Egyptian King.
1:02.0	Coming up, we meet some of the biggest stars in Egyptian football for their unique insights into Mohammed Sala.
1:09.6	He made those young boys and these young boys dream. If someone from the same, come from the same background as I do, made it to the top.
1:11.5	Why couldn't I make it? Why? Why not?
1:16.6	We talked to the coaches who've witnessed why Salah turned into one of the best players in the world.
1:19.5	I am very proud that one day I work with you see.
1:25.1	From chill, growing, growing, growing to megastard.
1:29.3	We're with Liverpool's Egyptian fans for a match day, Cairo style.
1:34.1	Seeing one of our own, one of our fellow Egyptians on this global pitch and achieving such personal records and breaking global records,
1:38.9	yet being able to relate to him in such deep ways,
1:42.8	it's an honor and then it's also inspirational for us
1:46.2	and for us to grow in our own fields. We travel back to where it all began for Sala, the village
1:52.3	of Nogrig. He exceeded all our expectations, but behind that success is a powerful story of
1:59.1	struggle, persistence, and incredible willpower.
2:03.7	And we experience the bus journey that's become a famous part of Salah's journey to the top.
2:09.5	It's a seven-seater, little van. It's very tight. I mean, I would say Muhammad Salah would have
	...

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