10 July 2023 , 15:01
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Mo Salah could be in the middle of another club vs country fight as Egypt look to include him in their squad for the Olympics next summer.
The Liverpool star, who is among the leading lights at Anfield, will already miss games in January and February due to his involvement in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). The tournament always take place in the middle of the Premier League season, affecting teams with an African contingent.
That will leave Jurgen Klopp short for a period as Salah jets off to Ivory Coast, who are hosting the tournament, with the Egyptian looking to win it for the first time having finished second in 2017 and 2021. Liverpool though could be without their leading marksman just months later.
Paris will host the Olympics next summer and Egypt are exploring the option of having Salah in their squad as one of their overaged players. The dates of the games in France mean any player involved will miss parts of pre-season and the early matches of the 2024/25 seaso.
“I am doing my best to choose the young players who will participate in the upcoming Olympics,” Rogerio Micale, who will lead the Egyptians, told . "We still have one year to think of the matter and evaluate the situation, but for sure we welcome Salah… Salah is as significant as Neymar in Brazil.”
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Klopp has previously bemoaned international breaks and the toll its take on his players, who already play a huge number of games at club level. The German has also found himself copping major criticism when the last AFCON was in action after comments he made.
He said: I've heard that so often that there's no international break until March. In January, there's a little tournament in Africa, I just want to say, and I think Asia is playing games, too - South America as well, great, can't wait." Those words led to a reporter demanding an apology.
In the last edition of AFCON it was, at the time, two Liverpool men squaring off in the final. Salah's Egypt side were undone by Sadio Mane and Senegal, with Salah's form dropping in the following weeks.
Klopp said following his return to Anfield: "Everyone could see he has the final on his mind. He's very disappointed, it was a massive thing. Losing a final is always really hard, I can sing that song, but losing the way they did was especially hard. He is happy to be back but is disappointed as well, massively so."