Hamza Abdelkarim: the little Pharaoh who achieved what Salah could not

Hamza has played just one match for Barcelona. He got four minutes in the La Liga clash against Rayo Vallecano.

Fierce competition in the Catalan attack has kept the young forward on the fringes, especially with Raphinha in scintillating form and 14 goals to his name. Hamza had topped the scoring charts during Barcelona's pre-season, yet the space hasn't opened up for him since.

Marca continued: "But despite his limited playing time with Barcelona, who a few days ago extended and improved the contract Hamza signed in the summer, he remains a strong presence in the plans of the Egyptian national team, and indeed took part with them in the last World Cup. The Catalan forward came on in the 62nd minute as a substitute for Mohamed Salah in yesterday's Friday match against Angola (0-0), and squandered a dangerous chance in stoppage time."

She continued: "In his country, Hamza is compared almost constantly to Liverpool's former star, given his position and his potential. He has long been referred to as 'the new Salah'. In fact, the veteran forward (34 years old) is one of Hamza's reference points and among the players he admires the most. But the young Catalan has already managed to surpass the current Trabzonspor player in achieving one of his greatest professional ambitions: signing for Barcelona.

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The newspaper stated: "In countless transfer windows over the past ten years, there have been contacts between Barcelona and Salah. The Egyptian winger was, and still is, one of the most prominent and distinguished forwards in the world. In fact, during last summer, his name appeared once again on the Catalan club's agenda, but he ultimately signed for the Turkish team until 2028."

It concluded: "Sometimes because of his club's refusal, especially Liverpool, for whom he played from the 17-18 season until 25-26, to let him go, and other times because of financial disagreements between the two parties, Salah's move to the Spotify Camp Nou never came to fruition. Wearing the Blaugrana shirt was always one of Salah's ambitions, but he did not achieve it, and it is likely to become impossible now given his age, whereas Hamza has already achieved it."

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