For as long as anyone remembers in Egypt, a job in Saudi Arabia meant several significant things such as private schools for children, a bigger flat, a summer house or just a more comfortable lifestyle.
In many cases, it also meant an escape from poverty.
However, when Mohamed Salah was given the opportunity to move to Saudi Arabia for a substantial sum, many Egyptians were opposed.
“We are not opposed to him going because it’s the Saudi league,” said Ammar Ali Hassan, an Egyptian author and sociologist. “Salah has become a legendary success story that’s yet to be completed and, for Egyptians, going to Saudi Arabia now, regardless of the money involved, will mean the premature end of that iconic story,” Mr Hassan told The National.
Mr Hassan’s take on the saga about the Liverpool striker’s future is among the more understanding in a football-mad country where the courting of Salah by Saudi Super League club Al-Ittihad dominated the national conversation and social media.
Most views aired on social media and newspaper columns on the subject steered clear from insults or bigotry, although some Saudi and Egyptian users traded barbs that went well beyond the realms of sports.
Since the 1950s, Egyptians have been travelling to Saudi Arabia for higher-paid jobs. Saudi Arabia has many appealing factors, especially as it is also home to Islam’s holiest sites, Makkah and Madinah.
In those early years, Egyptians filled jobs that Saudis would not do, like driving lorries, cooking, waiting on tables or cleaning.
An estimated 2.5 million Egyptians are living in Saudi Arabia at present – many of them spending decades with their children and grandchildren knowing no home except Saudi Arabia.
That extraordinary affection Egyptians feel for Salah is not entirely rooted in the footballing skills of the winger, 31, but also because they see him, despite his global standing and wealth, as one of their own.
They only want the very best for him; and for many, that is not the Saudi Super League, at least not now.
It’s against this backdrop that most Egyptians hoped that Salah stayed in Liverpool to continue a dream that most thought was unthinkable just a decade ago. A local turned legend, playing for a storied club in the world’s oldest and most popular league.
To them, Salah joining Al-Ittihad would have accorded him an ordinariness that they did not want him to have. They did not want him to be another Egyptian lured by the riches of Saudi Arabia.
In Salah’s case, they believe, it would squander a rare opportunity for an Egyptian athlete to become the best Arab athlete of all time and one of English football's greats.
“Many of us thought Liverpool would not be able to resist the pressure to sell Salah for what was reportedly an offer of 200 million euros or more,” said Sabry Sirag, a prominent football commentator from Egypt.
“But the club didn’t and Egyptians are overjoyed and relieved he is staying.”
Since the Saudi transfer window closed last Thursday, many Egyptians took to social media to air their feelings about the Salah saga.
Many say they are now looking to see Salah breaking more records for Liverpool and winning the Ballon d'Or, football's most coveted award which has so far eluded the Egyptian.
“It is a historic decision, one that is outside the limitations of what passes for normal,” wrote Youssef Hamdy on Facebook about Salah's decision to stay in Liverpool. “It’s a decision that conveys to millions a virtue that goes well beyond the boundaries of football, just like other chapters of Salah’s journey.”
Even a Facebook page for supporters of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi was not free from the Salah discussions.
“Thank you … to the legend Mohammed Salah who did not let down generations and millions of youths, children, Egyptians, Arabs and Africans,” said one Facebook page.
It also urged the Egyptian leader to name a new stadium built at the new capital in the desert east of Cairo after the Liverpool winger.
Others saw the Salah affair as proof that money does not trump all.
Salah’s teammate and Scottish international Andy Robertson praised Salah – who has remained publicly silent on reports of his transfer – for how he handled the transfer saga.
“He could have forced a move and become the highest-paid player in football, but remained professional … loyalty is hard to find these days, and we are blessed to have Mo Salah who loves and genuinely cares about the club. And his legacy continues.”
