Footballer Hussein Ali, who bears a striking resemblance to Salah, has stated that he is being bombarded with requests for selfies every day, with some people even wishing him well after ‘his’ shoulder injury in the Champions League Final.
If Mo Salah’s shoulder injury does rule him out of playing for the World Cup in Russia, perhaps Egypt might consider bending a few of FIFA’s selection guidelines by sneaking Iraq’s Hussein Ali onto the pitch in place of the Liverpool player.
Ali is a professional footballer and currently plies his trade with Iraqi outfit Al Zawraa, and he says he isn’t content with just looking like Salah, he aims to replicate his style on the pitch too.
Ali said, “We play in the same position, and I do everything to imitate and copy his movements.”
“He reads the Quran, and he asks God to help him before his matches. I also read the Quran and pray,” he added.
Ali says that he is currently subject to a lot of the trappings of fame without being, well, famous. He regularly gets stopped on the street for photographs, and he has even purchased an authentic Liverpool kit to help keep the mystique.
He also said: “When I played against the Lebanese club Al Ahed, people were taking photos with me for an hour and a half.”
“The day before yesterday I was in a mall; the security guards, the shop workers and the clients, everyone wanted to take a photo with me… even the girls!”
Ali has said that people even send him ‘get well soon’ messages following the shoulder injury that Mo Salah suffered during the Champions League Final.
He added: “In my neighbourhood, over a number of days, people who passed me would say ‘Get well soon.”
