Mohamed Salah did not play to his best at the 2018 World Cup because he had fought with the Egyptian Football Association president over the use of his image rights, according to a former senior sporting official in the country.
Liverpool forward Salah was tipped to star at the tournament in Russia but struggled as Egypt crashed to three defeats against Uruguay, Russia and Saudi Arabia, and were eliminated at the group stage.
Hazem Emam, a former member of the Egyptian FA, believes this was down to Salah falling out with the national association and its former president, Hani Abu Reeda.