The Most Famous

SOCCER PLAYERS from Egypt

This page contains a list of the greatest Egyptian Soccer Players. The pantheon dataset contains 21,273 Soccer Players, 58 of which were born in Egypt. This makes Egypt the birth place of the 52nd most number of Soccer Players behind Ecuador, and Morocco.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Egyptian Soccer Players of all time. This list of famous Egyptian Soccer Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Egyptian Soccer Players.

1. Abdulrahman Fawzi (1909 - 1988)

With an HPI of 55.43, Abdulrahman Fawzi is the most famous Egyptian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 20 different languages on wikipedia.

Abdelrahman Fawzy (Arabic: عبدالرحمن فوزي) (August 11, 1909 – October 16, 1988) was an Egyptian professional football player and manager, who played as a centre forward. He played for Al-Masry SC and Zamalek SC (where he spent most of his career) as well as the Egypt national football team. He took part at the 1934 FIFA World Cup, where he scored twice for Egypt in their 4–2 loss against Hungary, which was the first time (and the only time before 1970) that an African team had competed at the FIFA World Cup. He was thus, the first African footballer to score at the World Cup. He would have been the first African to score a hat trick at the World Cup (a feat not yet achieved by any African footballer to date) but his third goal was disallowed. The Egyptian goalkeeper that day, Mustafa Mansour, later said: "When the game was 2–2, my colleague Fawzy took the ball from the centre and dribbled past all the Hungarian players to score a third goal. But the referee cancelled the goal as an offside!"

2. Hassan Shehata (b. 1947)

With an HPI of 54.46, Hassan Shehata is the 2nd most famous Egyptian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Hassan Shehata (Egyptian Arabic: حسن شحاتة; born 19 June 1947) is an Egyptian retired football manager and former professional football player who played as a forward. He is considered as one of the best forwards in the history of African football. He is nicknamed the "Master". As a manager, Shehata led Egypt to three consecutive Africa Cup of Nations titles, in 2006, 2008 and 2010. He is the first ever coach to win three consecutive Africa Cup of Nations titles. Shehata is one of only two coaches to win the Africa Cup three times, along with Ghana's Charles Gyamfi. He is considered one of the greatest Egyptian footballers of all time. He scored some memorable goals that lived in the fans' memories. The songs and chants that the fans sang in his name are considered eternal in the memory of football fans in Egypt. Shehata started his career in Zamalek, he played almost his whole career with the Cairo giants. He was a prolific goal scorer and is considered one of Zamalek's top scorers of all-time. In 1974, Shehata came 3rd in the African Player of the Year by France Football. Despite not winning the Africa Cup of Nations with Egypt as a player and only obtaining a bronze medal in the 1974 edition, however, as a manager, he won the title three consecutive times, becoming the only manager to make this achievement. He stated in a press release that he is proud to be affiliated with the Zamalek Club, and stressed that he had spent the best days of his life inside the White Castle (Zamalek), and he was associated with great players during his career as a player in the team. Shehata pointed out that he is very proud of the Zamalek fans, who created the fame and stardom of all the players who played for the club throughout its long history, and that he considers the Zamalek fans to be the number one player in the system, and their support for the team has not differed over the ages.

3. Mohamed Salah (b. 1992)

With an HPI of 53.82, Mohamed Salah is the 3rd most famous Egyptian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 85 different languages.

Mohamed Salah Hamed Mahrous Ghaly (Arabic: محمد صلاح حامد محروس غالي, Egyptian Arabic pronunciation: [mæˈħam.mæd sˤɑˈlɑːħ ˈɣæːli]; born 15 June 1992), known as Mohamed Salah or Mo Salah, is an Egyptian professional footballer who plays as a right winger or forward for Liverpool and captains the Egypt national team. Widely regarded as one of the greatest wingers in the history of the sport, he is known for his clinical finishing, dribbling, speed, and playmaking abilities. Salah started his senior career in 2010 playing for Al Mokawloon departing in 2012 to join Basel, where he won two Swiss Super League titles. In 2014, Salah joined Chelsea for a reported fee of £11 million, but limited gametime led to successive loans to Fiorentina and Roma, who later signed him permanently for €15 million. In the 2016–17 season, Salah was a key figure in Roma's unsuccessful title bid, reaching double figures in both goals and assists. In 2017, Salah was transferred to Liverpool for £36.9 million, a club record at the time. In his first season, he set the record for most Premier League goals scored (32) in a 38-game season and helped Liverpool to the 2018 UEFA Champions League final. Having formed a formidable attacking trio with Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mané after the departure of Philippe Coutinho, Salah went on to be an integral player in the club's Champions League and Premier League title successes in the following two seasons, and has since also won the FA Cup, EFL Cup, FA Community Shield, UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup. Salah has achieved numerous individual accolades, including two PFA Players' Player of the Year awards, three Premier League Golden Boots, the Premier League Player of the Season, the Premier League Playmaker of the Season, finished third for the Best FIFA Men's Player in 2018 and 2021, and finished fifth in the 2019 and 2022 Ballon d'Or, respectively. He received the 2018 FIFA Puskás Award for his winning strike in the first Merseyside derby of the 2017–18 season. In 2023, Salah became Liverpool's all-time Premier League top goalscorer, and also became the fifth player to score 200 goals for the club. At international level, Salah represented Egypt at youth level before making his senior debut in 2011. Following his performances at the 2012 Summer Olympics, he was named CAF Most Promising African Talent of the Year. Since then, he finished as runner-up in the 2017 and 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, and was top scorer during CAF qualification as Egypt qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Salah was named CAF African Footballer of the Year (2017 and 2018), BBC African Footballer of the Year (2017 and 2018), and was selected in the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament, 2021 Africa Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament and the CAF Team of the Year on several occasions. Salah is regarded as a symbol of national pride in Egypt for his achievements and was named in Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential people in 2019. Salah has also been credited for raising the profile of Liverpool among Egyptians. To Egyptians, Salah is known as the "Fourth Pyramid". Favoured across the Arab world, Salah is often known as the "Pride of the Arabs".

4. Essam El Hadary (b. 1973)

With an HPI of 51.20, Essam El Hadary is the 4th most famous Egyptian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 41 different languages.

Essam Kamal Tawfiq El Hadary (Arabic: عصام كمال توفيق الحضري; born 15 January 1973) is an Egyptian goalkeeping coach and former professional footballer. Nicknamed the "High Dam", El Hadary spent the largest portion of his club career with Al Ahly, with whom he won seven Egyptian Premier Leagues, four Egypt Cups, four Egyptian Super Cups, three CAF Champions Leagues, three CAF Super Cups, one Arab Club Champions Cup, and two Arab Super Cups. Third on the list of all-time appearances for Egypt, El Hadary made 159 international appearances for his nation between 1996 and 2018. He won the Africa Cup of Nations four times, and was named the tournament's best goalkeeper on three occasions. In the 2018 World Cup, at the age of 45 years and 161 days, he became the oldest player in history to play in a World Cup match. After his retirement, he was very close to being the goalkeeping coach of Étoile Sahel of Tunisia, to be part of the technical staff under the leadership of Jorvan Vieira after agreeing to sign the contract, but his mother's illness forced him to step back in the end.

5. Mahmoud El-Gohary (1938 - 2012)

With an HPI of 50.85, Mahmoud El-Gohary is the 5th most famous Egyptian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Mahmoud Nuseir Youssef El-Gohary (Arabic: محمود نصير يوسف الجوهري; 20 February 1938 – 31 August 2012) was an Egyptian footballer and football coach.

6. Mahmoud El Khatib (b. 1954)

With an HPI of 50.81, Mahmoud El Khatib is the 6th most famous Egyptian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Mahmoud Ibrahim Ibrahim El Khatib (Arabic: محمود إبراهيم إبراهيم الخطيب; born 30 October 1954), popularly nicknamed Bibo (Arabic: بيبو), is an Egyptian retired footballer and current President of Al Ahly. He is considered as one of the best forwards in the history of African football.

7. Hossam Hassan (b. 1966)

With an HPI of 50.21, Hossam Hassan is the 7th most famous Egyptian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Hossam Hassan Hussein (Egyptian Arabic: حسام حسن حسين; born 10 August 1966) is an Egyptian former professional football player who played as a striker, and current coach of the Egyptian national team. A prolific goal scorer, he is Egypt's all-time top scorer with 69 goals in 177 appearances. His twin brother Ibrahim also played professional football, and they shared teams for most of their extensive careers. Hassan represented the national team in the 1990 World Cup and seven Africa Cup of Nations tournaments. He is regarded as one of the best players in African football history and is the 15th most capped player in men's international football. A prolific scorer, he is the 2nd in the list of the Egyptian Premier League's all-time top scorers. Hassan is considered one of his country's best players of all time.

8. Ahmed Hassan (b. 1975)

With an HPI of 49.27, Ahmed Hassan is the 8th most famous Egyptian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 32 different languages.

Ahmed Hassan Kamel Hussein (Egyptian Arabic: أحمد حسن كامل حسين; born 2 May 1975) is an Egyptian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or on the right wing. He is the fourth most capped international male footballer in history, having made 184 appearances for the Egypt national team. Hassan is regarded as one of the best players in African football history.

9. Ad-Diba (1927 - 2016)

With an HPI of 48.13, Ad-Diba is the 9th most famous Egyptian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Mohamed Diab Al-Attar, known as Ad-Diba, (Arabic: محمد دياب العطار‎; 17 November 1927 – 30 December 2016), was a footballer who played for the Al Ittihad Alexandria Club and the Egypt national football team. He later served as an international football referee. In 2007, he was named one of the 200 greatest African footballers of all time.

10. Mohamed Zidan (b. 1981)

With an HPI of 48.13, Mohamed Zidan is the 10th most famous Egyptian Soccer Player. His biography has been translated into 36 different languages.

Mohamed Abdallah Mohamed Zidan (Arabic: محمد عبد الله محمد زيدان; born 11 December 1981) is an Egyptian former professional footballer who played as a striker.

People

Pantheon has 80 people classified as Egyptian soccer players born between 1905 and 2004. Of these 80, 72 (90.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Egyptian soccer players include Hassan Shehata, Mohamed Salah, and Essam El Hadary. The most famous deceased Egyptian soccer players include Abdulrahman Fawzi, Mahmoud El-Gohary, and Ad-Diba. As of April 2024, 21 new Egyptian soccer players have been added to Pantheon including Ad-Diba, Magdi Abdelghani, and Ismail Youssef.