MO SALAH’S bodyguard has to scan every present the footballer is sent – to make sure it cannot KILL him.
Salah, 31, is now one of the best footballers in the world and is especially popular in the Middle Eastern Arabic region.
But his mind-boggling fame – earning him 62.5million Instagram followers – means plenty of fans want to demonstrate their support with gifts.
However, before Salah can rip open any wrapping paper, his personal security man Karim Abdou gets there first to confirm what’s inside is safe.
Abdou said: “All gifts have to be scanned.
“We don’t accept gifts, but sometimes if I take them from people they have to be scanned.
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“You never know what is in the gift.
“It could make him sick or kill him, you don’t know.”
Abdou has provided protection for some huge names in football including Roberto Carlos, Alessandro Del Piero and Angel Di Maria.
However, as the former head of security for the Egyptian national team, he now works with compatriot Salah.
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The pair have known each other for nearly a decade, with Abdou even going to Italy to look after the forward during his time at Roma.
But as the greatest Arab player of all time and after leading Egypt to their first World Cup in 28 years in 2018, Salah is a national icon in his homeland and instantly recognisable.
So whenever he heads back to Egypt, Abdou has to try and make his client invisible to the public so that he is not spotted.
The sport safety expert recalled on the 5ASide Podcast: “He’s a ghost, he cannot be seen.
“One time, he went to pray in a mosque.
“Nobody knew where he lived and somebody followed him and put in a WhatsApp group, ‘Mo Salah lives in that address’.
“There was like 20,000 people who showed up to his house after five minutes.”
But the most attention came after Salah had helped Liverpool become European champions for a sixth time in 2019.
‘COULDN’T ESCAPE’
Abdou continued: “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.
“He was inside and could not even open the door. They tried to escape him out the back door, but they couldn’t.”
Abdou also revealed fans regularly write to Salah in the hope that he can help in times of crisis – especially because they know about his generosity to support those in need.
Abdou concluded: “People write on a paper and give it to him because people think he’s going to solve all their problems.
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“He’s paid millions and millions for sick people. He buys ambulances for the city.
“He helped people who are short of money to get married, pay their bills or to have surgery.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
