A dirt field and unpainted buildings make up the background of this courtyard, which also features stacks of building supplies. The pitch where a group of barefoot teenagers are running after a yellow ball is made up of certain patches of grass and some goalpost debris. The only things that make this otherwise barren desert town cheerful are the vibrant clothes and the amazing painting by Mohamed Salah.

Approximately 80 miles from Cairo, in the Nile delta village of Nagrig, Salah was born into a working-class family and began chasing his dream of being a professional football player. Salah’s ideal teams were Al Ahly and Zamalek, two of the best teams in Egypt. Loved by both Zinedine Zidane and Francesco Totti, Salah would spend endless hours in shadowy alleys attempting to mimic the beauty he saw on TV.

2006 saw Salah enroll in the Al Mokawloon academy after impressing a scout while competing for his hometown team, Ittihad Basyoun. Salah, who was only fourteen, would take five hours to get to and from training in Cairo, changing busses four or five times the route. Salah was elevated to the first team by head coach Mohamed Radwan after all of his hard work, as he showed promise. Radwan quickly adjusted Salah’s diet and training schedule to get him in line with the older players’ physicality. He was an excellent fullback when he was younger and also had the ability to move the ball deep into the opposition’s half. Salah became a vital member of the team after being switched to the striker position and started every game in 2011–12.

The catastrophic riots at Port Said Stadium caused the Egyptian Premier League to be suspended, which meant that Salah’s domestic season was cut short. Not long after that, Salah scored twice when Swiss club FC Basel defeated Egypt’s U-23 squad 4-3 in a friendly match. Salah was asked to remain for a week of trial by club president Bernhard Heusler after impressing him; he then signed a four-year contract. Adapting to life in Switzerland was initially challenging for Salah because to the language barrier and the expectation that he would replace Swiss talents Xherdan Shaqiri and Granit Xhaka. The Egyptian winger struggled at first, but he quickly recovered his form, scoring the game-winning goals that led Basel to their fifth consecutive league title.

Salah’s domestic season was shortened due to the Egyptian Premier League’s suspension following the disastrous riots at Port Said Stadium. Soon after, Salah scored twice in a friendly match against Egypt’s U-23 team, which Swiss club FC Basel won 4-3. Salah impressed club president Bernhard Heusler, who requested him to stay for a week of trial before he signed a four-year contract. Salah first found it difficult to adjust to life in Switzerland due to the language barrier and the belief that he would take the position of Xherdan Shaqiri and Granit Xhaka, two talented Swiss players. The Egyptian winger had trouble early on, but he soon got back on track, scoring the game-winning goals that gave Basel their fifth straight league championship.

In January 2014, Chelsea F.C. paid 11 million euros to acquire Salah, carrying on the remarkable legacy of African players in the Premier League. When Salah joined a team packed of aging stars like Ivory Coast’s Didier Drogba, José Mourinho benched him and gave him very little roles. In February of the next year, Salah was loaned by Chelsea for a period of eighteen months to Fiorentina of Italy. Now that he’s back in the spotlight, Salah’s blazing speed and natural goal-scoring prowess humiliated multiple Italian defenses. The best clubs in Europe started to take notice of the Egyptian when he scored goals against Juventus and Inter Milan. After a fantastic season in Rome, Salah chose to sign a loan with A.S. Roma instead of Florence. Roma placed third in the 2015–16 season, behind Napoli and Juventus, and earned a Champions League berth thanks to Salah’s 15 goals. The following season, Roma came in second place, only four points behind Juventus, who went on to win the Champions League. In his final game, Salah—who has 19 goals for the team—made a fitting replacement for Francesco Totti, a club legend and childhood idol.

In the summer of 2017, Salah—the first Egyptian player ever recruited by Liverpool F.C.—was sold to the team for a club record 34.3 million euros. Liverpool supporters were ready for an exciting game as Salah epitomized manager Jürgen Klopp’s intense, “Gegenpressing” style of play. Salah’s first season was a big success, and that’s saying a lot. He beat Cristiano Ronaldo’s 2008 record of the most Premier League goals in a single season (38 games) with 32 goals. Salah, who was named PFA Players’ Player of the Year and earned the Golden Boot, helped Liverpool reach the Champions League final. Despite the notorious injury that Spanish center back Sergio Ramos caused to Mohamed Salah, Real Madrid prevailed in the game. Salah played with a shoulder injury he acquired during the summer, but he led Egypt throughout their brief 2018 World Cup campaign in Russia.