2018 FIFA World Cup Video Diaries: Egypt's Mohamed Salah Given Honorary Chechnyan Citizenship

Within a very short span of time, Mohamed Salah’s fan base has escalated to another level. All thanks to his wonderful season at the Premier League. With 11 assists, Mo Salah scored 34 goals in 49 appearances for the club. Chechnya leader Ramzan Kadyrov also seems to be the fan of the Liverpool player. Kadyrov leader hosted a dinner for the team after Egypt got knocked out of the 2018 FIFA World Cup and gave Mohamed Salah the citizenship of Chechnya.

Kadyrov on Telegram wrote, “Mohamed Salah is an honorary citizen of the Chechen Republic. Yes, that's right! Tonight I signed a decree conferring this high award on the great footballer and member of the Egypt and Liverpool teams.” After a short speech, Salah pinned the Chechnyan flag to the striker’s shirt.

When team Egypt landed in Russia for the World Cup, Kadyrov met the striker and even posed for a picture with Salah. However, this did not go down well with a few haters of Kadyrov. They took to social media to slam the Egyptian striker. Kadyrov even said, "I consider them to be one of the strongest teams in the world," Kadyrov smiled. "Mohamed Salah is the best footballer in the world and an overall perfect person."

Egypt has had a forgettable season at the World Cup. They lost to hosts Russia by 3-1 in Group A. There were reports of discontent amongst the Egyptian fans after the team was disqualified from the World Cup. Salah was quick enough to respond to the rumours and wrote, “Everyone in Egypt is together and there is absolutely no disagreement between us.. We respect each other and the relationship is best.”

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 23, 2018 05:06 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).