The 27-year-old picked up his second consecutive African Player of the Year award last week after his stunning performances in 2018.

Salah scored 32 goals in the Premier League last season - a record for a 38-game season and had scored 14 goals so far in the league this season.

However, Egpyt Sports Minister Ashram Sobhy says Salah deserves the honour because everybody in his home country is proud of his footballing exploits.

"The surprise that I was preparing for Salah is the construction of a museum bearing his name at the Gezira Youth Centre in Cairo,” he said.

"Salah is delivering outstanding performances with both Liverpool and the national team.

"All Egyptians are proud of his achievements.

"I hope that winning this year's title [of Africa's best player] will be a big boost for him to continue his achievements, and to deliver more outstanding performances at club level - as well as with the national team in the Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt next June."

It will be recalled that Salah secured a place for Egypt in their first World Cup since 1990 when his late penalty saw them beat Congo 2-1 in qualifying in October 2017.