Egyptian Salah’s boots join the loot at the British Museum
The boots of Liverpool ace Mohamed Salah will next week take pride of place in the British Museum’s Ancient Egypt exhibition alongside the statues of pharaohs and the Rosetta Stone.
The British Museum houses on of the largest collections of Egyptian antiquities in the world. The collection is now set to grow by one as the 25-yearold Egyptian striker’s Adidas boots go on display.
A statement on the British Museum’s twitter account boasted of its latest treasure. “We’ve made an exciting new acquisition,” it announced. “To celebrate Egyptian footballing star Mo Salah being top scorer in the Premier League this season, we’ll be displaying his boots alongside objects from ancient Egypt in the run-up to the Champions League final.”
Neal Spencer, assistant keeper of the Ancient Egypt and Sudan department, said: “The boots tell a story of a modern Egyptian icon, performing in the UK, with a truly global impact, and build on our recent project to acquire objects to tell the story of daily life in 20th and 21st century Egypt.”
Salah has ascended to global fame this year, following a record 32-goal-run in the Premier League season for Liverpool.
The striker was voted the Professional Footballers’ Association Player of the Year. He also helped Egypt to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1990.
Originally from Nagrig, in Northern Egypt, Muslim leaders claim Salah’s success is helping tackle Islamophobia. In February a group of Liverpool fans were filmed chanting “I’ll be Muslim too”.