Egypt star Mohamed Salah shares Christmas joy and shrugs off critics

​Despite being fully focused on Egypt’s preparations to face South Africa on Friday in the second round of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations group stage, Mohamed Salah still found time to send his traditional Christmas message.

The Liverpool star, who scored a last‑gasp winner against Zimbabwe, posted a picture of his two daughters beside a Christmas tree on Thursday via his official account on “X”, adding a red heart and the words “Merry Christmas.”

Salah has made a habit of greeting his followers on Christmas every year, even though the posts regularly trigger criticism and heated debate on social media from some sections. The Egyptian captain once again chose to ignore the noise and share a family celebration while the Pharaohs step up their preparations for a tough rematch with South Africa, the team that knocked them out of the 2019 AFCON round of 16 on home soil.

Egypt, record winners of the tournament with seven titles, opened their AFCON 2025 campaign by beating Zimbabwe 2–1, the same scoreline with which South Africa overcame Angola in the same group.

❤️ #MerryChristmas pic.twitter.com/ioj3YlaPdc

— Mohamed Salah (@MoSalah) December 25, 2025