Mo Salah: The Egyptian King's Story | Part Two
It Was What It Was : The Football History Podcast
The Overlap
4.9 • 667 Ratings
🗓️ 22 August 2025
⏱️ 53 minutes
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Summary
Welcome back to It Was What It Was, the Football History podcast hosted by Jonathan Wilson and Rob Draper. In this second episode of a two-part special, we explore the life of Mohamed Salah - from winning his third PFA player of the year award, to the pressures and the complex political landscape he navigates in Egypt . We delve into Salah's impact in the UK, his challenging relationship with International football, from rural Egypt to the global stage, Mohamed Salah's journey is as thrilling as it is complex. Join us for an in-depth look at one of the most intriguing figures in modern football.
00:00 Introduction
00:44 Mohamed Salah's Political and Cultural Significance
03:01 The Complexities of Expressing Political Views
05:02 Historical Context: Egypt's Political Landscape
14:19 The Arab Spring and Its Aftermath
24:06 Mohamed Salah's Relationship with the Egyptian National Team
27:40 High Stakes in World Cup Play-offs
28:35 Egypt's Football Legacy and Recent Struggles
29:55 The 2018 World Cup Disappointment
31:56 Controversies and Criticisms
37:59 Political Pressures and Social Media
44:46 Salah's Impact in the UK
49:24 The Ballon d'Or and Future Prospects
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Can you tell us how he died, where and why? |
| 0:11.8 | Welcome to What's What It Was, the Football History Podcast. |
| 0:14.4 | I'm Jonathan Wilson. I'm with Rob Draper. |
| 0:16.7 | And that was Mohammed Sala on X, reacting to a post from UEFA, expressing their sadness of the death of Solomon Al-Aubed, the Palestinian Pelle. |
| 0:29.6 | We looked with Ed Erins on Tuesday at Mohammed Salas' background, where he comes from in Egypt. |
| 0:36.6 | We looked at the process that got him from |
| 0:39.0 | there to Basel and then obviously on to ultimately to Liverpool. Today we're going to be looking |
| 0:45.6 | at what he means as a political figure, as a cultural figure, really the enigma of Mosala, |
| 0:51.5 | because he's really not somebody we we hear a huge amount from is he |
| 0:55.6 | Rob? Yeah I think for someone who's so famous I mean probably the most famous Arab in the world |
| 1:02.3 | It's astonishing how little we know about what he thinks and I think there's a very good reason for that as we're discovered |
| 1:08.3 | And we should say that |
| 1:13.5 | that tweet I thought was hugely significant, |
| 1:18.6 | which came out a couple of weeks before we recorded this episode. Because most salaries really careful not to wade into political controversies |
| 1:24.2 | or seemingly anything that would allow him to be attached to one side |
| 1:29.2 | the other in pretty much any debate. So that was lifting the veil a little bit, a little bit |
| 1:35.2 | of a window on the soul of Mohammed Salat. I'm sure it's carefully created. I'm sure it was written |
| 1:40.5 | with advice from his agents and PR people. |
| 1:45.1 | But we should say Suleiman al-Obed, the Palestinian Football Association, |
| 1:49.1 | say that he was killed during an Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip |
| 1:53.0 | whilst waiting for humanitarian aid. |
| 1:55.1 | So obviously, it's hugely controversial the way AIDS being distributed |
... |
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