MO SALAH LEAVES SLOT TENSION BEHIND: EGYPT SQUAD NAMED FOR AFCON 2025 IN MOROCCO
Mohamed Salah is heading to AFCON with Egypt next week, getting a break from his public conflict with Liverpool manager Arne Slot. He will miss at least two key league games.
After a disagreement with Liverpool's manager, Arne Slot, Mohamed Salah is heading to Morocco next week to play for Egypt in the Africa Cup of Nations. This will give him a break from the tension at Liverpool.
Egypt's coach, Hossam Hassan, made the announcement on Thursday, including Salah in the 28-man squad for the tournament that starts on December 21. The 33-year-old winger is set to miss at least a couple of league games for Liverpool.
Last weekend, after the Premier League draw with Leeds United, Salah stirred up a media frenzy. He suggested he was being made a scapegoat for Liverpool's poor games and that his relationship with Slot had gotten worse.
In the Leeds game, Salah didn't play; he was also an unused substitute against West Ham United last month. Plus, he didn't even make the squad for the 1-0 win against Inter Milan in the Champions League earlier this week.
Salah can play in the Brighton & & Hove Albion game on Saturday. FIFA decided that players only need to join their national teams a week before the Africa Cup finals. During Egypt's group-stage matches, Liverpool will go up against Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Manchester City's Omar Marmoush is also on the squad, along with Mahmoud Trezeguet, who used to play for Aston Villa and currently plays for Al-Ahly.
The seven-time champions start against Zimbabwe on December 22, then play South Africa four days later, and finish the group stage against Angola on December 29.
Here is the squad list:
Goalkeepers: Mohamed El-Shenawy (Al-Ahly), Ahmed El-Shenawy (Pyramids), Mostafa Shobeir (Al-Ahly), Mohamed Sobhi (Zamalek)
Defenders: Mohamed Hany (Al-Ahly), Ahmed Eid (El-Masry), Rami Rabia (Al-Ain), Khaled Sobhi (El-Masry), Yasser Ibrahim (Al-Ahly), Mohamed Ismail (Zamalek), Hossam Abdelmaguid (Zamalek), Mohamed Hamdy (Pyramids), Ahmed Fatouh (Zamalek)
Midfielders: Marwan Ateya (Al-Ahly), Hamdy Fathy (Al-Wakrah), Mohanad Lasheen (Pyramids), Mahmoud Saber (Zed), Mohamed Shehata (Zamalek), Emam Ashour (Al-Ahly), Ahmed Zizo (Al-Ahly), Mahmoud Trezeguet (Al-Ahly), Ibrahim Adel (Al-Jazira), Mostafa Fathi (Pyramids), Omar Marmoush (Manchester City), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
Forwards: Mostafa Mohamed (Nantes), Salah Mohsen (El-Masry), Osama Faisal (National Bank of Egypt)
CRISTIANO RONALDO PROTESTS AL-HILAL'S BENZEMA DEAL BY SKIPPING AL-NASSR LEAGUE MATCH
Cristiano Ronaldo is fuming. Discover why the Al-Nassr star skipped his last match and is now threatening to leave Saudi Arabia.
Cristiano Ronaldo has been the main attraction in the Saudi Pro League ever since he landed in the Middle East three years ago. Now, for the first time, it looks like he’s actually thinking about leaving. He’s frustrated. He feels the playing field isn’t level, and it’s starting to get to him.
Here’s the deal: Four clubs in the league—Al-Ittihad, Al-Nassr, Al-Hilal, and Al-Ahli—get their backing straight from the state. But Ronaldo sat out Al-Nassr’s match against Al-Riyadh on Monday night. Why? He was protesting. He found out Al-Hilal was about to sign Karim Benzema from Al-Ittihad, and that was the last straw. From Ronaldo’s perspective, Al-Hilal keeps getting more freedom to splash cash than everyone else. They’re the current champions, and Ronaldo still hasn’t managed to win his first Saudi title.
Saudi officials tried to calm him down. According to Diario AS, they reached out and argued that most of Al-Hilal’s extra spending comes from Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, not the Public Investment Fund (PIF). Al-Hilal just brought in Kader Meite for €30 million, Saimon Bouabre for €23 million, and now Benzema. Al-Nassr, on the other hand, only managed two free transfers this winter. Sure, they spent a lot more in the summer, but that didn’t seem to matter to Ronaldo.
Reports from Portugal, cited by AS, say Ronaldo’s not ruling anything out—not even leaving Saudi Arabia this summer. That’s despite just signing an extension with Al-Nassr until 2027.
And honestly, he has a point. Since he arrived, Al-Hilal have spent €647 million, while Al-Nassr have shelled out €410 million and Al-Ittihad €365 million. These numbers probably don’t include salaries—and let’s face it, nobody’s making more than Ronaldo. He’s supposed to return on Friday when Al-Nassr face Al-Ittihad, but right now, no one really knows if he’ll play or if he’s planning his next move.
N’GOLO KANTE SKIPS TRAINING AS AL-ITTIHAD BLOCK HIS MOVE TO FENERBAHCE OFFICIALLY
N’Golo Kante has gone on strike at Al-Ittihad after a paperwork error blocked his move to Fenerbahce. Can he still sign by Friday?
N’Golo Kanté didn’t show up for Al-Ittihad training on Tuesday, and it’s not hard to see why. He was all set to head to Fenerbahçe, but the deal fell apart at the last minute—apparently because Al-Ittihad messed up some paperwork. Kante was supposed to fly to Istanbul and sign, but thanks to this administrative slip, he’s stuck in limbo. There’s still a shot at reviving the transfer sinceKanté Turkey’s transfer window stays open until Friday, February 6.
Kante was one of the first big European names to jump to the Saudi Pro League, joining Al-Ittihad in 2023 after seven years with Chelsea. He’s been a key player in Jeddah, helping Al-Ittihad win the 2024-25 league title and the King’s Cup.
Then, in the middle of the January window, word got out that Fenerbahce wanted him. The Turkish club were eager to add a World Cup winner to their squad. The plan was to swap Kante for Youssef En-Nesyri, who’d head to Saudi Arabia. Everything seemed set until deadline day, when news broke that an error by Al-Ittihad in the Transfer Matching System stopped the transfer cold.
Fenerbahce didn’t hold back. They blamed Al-Ittihad directly, saying they’d done everything right: agreements with the players, medicals, paperwork, all wrapped up on time. But Al-Ittihad entered something wrong in the system, and that was that. Fenerbahçe even asked for an extension and reached out to FIFA, but nothing moved. In the end, the deal died, and Fenerbahçe put out a statement saying they understood the frustration and would keep working to strengthen the squad.
Meanwhile, Kante’s making his feelings clear. According to Ben Jacobs, he skipped training on Tuesday, still hoping the move to Fenerbahce can happen. Santi Aouna says talks between the clubs aren’t dead yet. L’Equipe is reporting that Kanté doesn’t want to play for Al-Ittihad while he waits for FIFA’s decision. With the Turkish window open until Friday, there’s still a glimmer of hope for Kante, though En-Nesyri’s move is off the table for now.