Ahmad 
Mohamed Salah, Liverpool star and captain of the Egyptian national football team, responded at a press conference to criticism about the discrepancy between the “Reds”, and the “Pharaohs” currently participating in the African Cup of Nations.
Salah said: “I have been playing with the national team for a long time and I understand these criticisms, everyone has freedom of opinion and I respect everyone, but I tried to give everything I had in Egypt’s last two matches.”
Salah continued: “Any player who participates will give his best to win, this is Egypt, not Salah’s team, and the players need support and need help all the time.”
Salah continued: “Everyone knows what it means to win the African Cup of Nations, we were unlucky in the last edition and in Gabon as well, and we will give everything we have to beat Cape Verde.”
The Egyptian captain concluded: “There is no difference in capabilities, but the difference in mentality, I hope that the way will change in the Arab countries, and we allow the players to go out to professionalism.”