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​Meet The Original 'Egyptian King' Told He Was "100 Times Better Than Mohamed Salah' By Jurgen Klopp

​Meet The Original 'Egyptian King' Told He Was "100 Times Better Than Mohamed Salah' By Jurgen Klopp

“Klopp told me that I was better than Salah 100 hundred times but I needed to be more professional."

Anonymous

Anonymous

Mohamed Salah showed his world-class quality once again on Sunday after scoring the latest in a series of wonder goals for Liverpool, this time in a pulsating 2-2 draw with Manchester City at Anfield.

Salah slalomed his way through the City defence before unleashing a superb angled strike past Ederson to put the Reds 2-1 in front, which followed his superb assist for Sadio Mané just shy of the hour mark.

It prompted manager Jurgen Klopp to laud the Egyptian star as one of the best players in the world, but Salah is not the first player from the North African nation to be lavished in such praise by the German coach.

Mohamed Zidan also achieved notable success with Klopp at Mainz and later at Borussia Dortmund.

He played a key role in helping Mainz maintain their Bundesliga status, before joining Klopp at the Signal Iduna in 2008 and winning the title in 2010/11.

Image credit: PA
Image credit: PA

The former Egypt international revealed that Klopp would say he was a better player than his compatriot as motivation to improve his performances.

"Klopp told me that I was better than Salah 100 hundred times but I needed to be more professional," Zidan told ON Sport in January 2020.

"Klopp said to me that I have a great talent and skills but I need to concentrate more. If I did this I could be one of the best players in the world."

Zidan achieved other notable successes in his career, which included two African Cup of Nations triumphs in 2008 and 2010.

Image credit: PA
Image credit: PA

However, it is more than fair to say that his career did not reach the same heights as Salah's, which he puts down to lack of dedication.

"I had to be more dedicated to training and be more professional to reach Salah's level in the past," he admits.

"Salah is more professional than me and more dedicated to football like Ronaldo and Messi."

Zidan's career petered out after leaving Dortmund in January 2012, as he re-joined Mainz for a third spell at the club, before featuring for United Arab Emirates club FC Baniyas.

He returned to Egypt to play for Entag El Harby, ahead of announcing his retirement in 2016.

Words by James Hilsum.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Liverpool, Football, Borussia Dortmund, Jurgen Klopp, Mohamed Salah