Revealed: ‘Could kill him’ – The checks made by Mohamed Salah’s bodyguard in a bid to keep Liverpool superstar safe

The Egypt international has become a global phenomenon and one of the most recognisable figures on the planet. As a result, Salah boasts an ever-growing fan base and a number of rivals that may wish to cause him harm.

Karim Abdou is among those employed by Salah to make his life a little easier, with the security officer telling the 5aSide podcast of taking no chances when it comes to presents from supporters: “All gifts have to be scanned. We don't accept gifts, but sometimes if I take them from people they have to be scanned. You never know what is in the gift. It could make him sick or kill him, you don't know.”

Salah has become a Premier League and Champions League title winner with Liverpool, with his European success in 2019 – after scoring in a final showdown with Tottenham – taking his fame to even greater heights. Abdou added: “He is a ghost. He cannot be seen. One time, he went to pray in a mosque. Nobody knew where he lived and somebody followed him. [The person following] put in a WhatsApp group: 'Mo Salah lives in that address'."

Abdou claims that 20,000 people turned up at said address, before going on to say: “When he won the Champions League, that was the most crazy time. It was Eid and that prayer is thousands of people in the street because it is like Christmas here... He was supposed to go and pray in the street with everybody and he just won the Champions League so everyone wants to take pictures with him. Every single Egyptian media, TV, newspaper, it was like the final of the World Cup. They were lining up in front of his house. At the same time, I was at a hotel with the Egyptian national team. He was supposed to finish the two days off and come there. Out of nowhere, he was inside the house and could not even open the door. They tried to escape him out the back door, but they couldn't.”

Salah has been with Liverpool since 2017, breaking countless records during his time on Merseyside, and is under contract until 2025. Questions have been asked of whether that agreement will be honoured, with the talismanic 31-year-old seeing a big-money transfer to Saudi Arabia speculated on.