Mohamed Salah happy to put Liverpool contract talks aside to help Egypt at AFCON

Mohamed Salah is happy playing for Egypt again and is watching Liverpool from afar, reports Rahman Osman from Cameroon.
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Mohamed Salah is playing with a smile on his face in Cameroon, and that cannot be good news for Morocco ahead of the AFCON quarter final this weekend.

The Liverpool forward produced his best performance of the competition against the Ivory Coast in the last round, and there is growing confidence that a happy Salah can now lead the Pharaohs to victory.

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Having been frustrated and eventually dumped out of the 2019 edition at the round of 16 on home soil, Salah has made progress and scored the all-important goal to lead his side to the quarter final.

He has been seen chatting and cracking jokes, which has not been a common occurrence in the national team for some time.

This might not be good news for Liverpool fans, who want him back to help chase down Manchester City in the Premier League, but his body language and the smile can only be good for Carlos Queiroz’s side.

He is still watching every Liverpool match from afar, tuning in on his iPad in the team bus or at the hotel.

Mohamed Salah reacts during the Group D Africa Cup of Nations  (Photo by KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP via Getty Images)Mohamed Salah reacts during the Group D Africa Cup of Nations  (Photo by KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP via Getty Images)
Mohamed Salah reacts during the Group D Africa Cup of Nations (Photo by KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP via Getty Images)

How Carlos Queiroz has managed to settle Mohamed Salah

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One of the key things to see from the Egypt camp is that when Salah exits the team coach to head for training, he does it with a smile.

There had been reports that he was unhappy with the Egyptian FA in the past, but Carlos Queiroz has managed to settle differences behind the scenes and that has gone a long way to help the team on the pitch.

Tactically Salah is also happy with the cautious approach, and is beginning to get into his stride.

That was evident in the key game against the Ivorians, where he scored his most important Egyptian goal in the last couple of years.

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There has been always the accusation thrown at Salah that he does not care too much about the national team.

But his performances at the AFCON show that he does care and is desperate to lead his side to glory.

A win at the AFCON will help him win the Ballon d’Or

There are many who believe that Salah will have a great claim to the Ballon d’Or if he can lead Egypt to win the AFCON this time around.

He finished seventh in the last edition, and laughed when asked about his position.

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But deep down he would love to lead his country to glory this time around, and win the Ballon d’Or.

Salah is driven, and sources close to him say he is just like Cristian Ronaldo.

He wants to make sure that he gets all the accolades and trophies he can in his career, just like the Portuguese, so winning a major tournament with Egypt will be another feather in his cap.

He watches every Liverpool game on his iPad, on the team coach and in his room.

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He feels that this could be the time to get it right at international level, so the Liverpool contract talk can wait for now.

Mohamed Salah (R) celebrates next to Sudan’s midfielder Mustafa Ahmed Saeed (Photo by KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP via Getty Images)Mohamed Salah (R) celebrates next to Sudan’s midfielder Mustafa Ahmed Saeed (Photo by KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP via Getty Images)
Mohamed Salah (R) celebrates next to Sudan’s midfielder Mustafa Ahmed Saeed (Photo by KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP via Getty Images)

A good AFCON will help convince Liverpool to meet his demands

The best way for a player to demand more from his club, is to make sure that he is performing.

If Salah returns to Liverpool as an AFCON winner, then that will be another huge statement for Liverpool to break the bank and keep a striker at the top of his game.

For now, he is playing with a smile on his face and all talks of returning to Liverpool are at the back of his mind.

Who can blame a great player who is looking to add extra layers to what has been a great career.