MBS can have his megaprojects—but he can’t have Mo Salah

While the Kingdom carves Egypt into pieces for profit, one piece refused to be sold: the Egyptian King.

A mural of Mohamed Salah in downtown Cairo (Credit: Ibrahim.ID via Wikicommons)

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Every time I return to Egypt, I find myself saying goodbye to old friends instead of catching up with them. One by one, they’re preparing to leave—chasing better lives elsewhere. Migration has long been part of the Egyptian story, with generations spreading out across Africa, Europe and North America in search of opportunity.

But now, almost everyone I know is heading in the same direction: Saudi Arabia.

“Everyone wants a piece of the gold rush,” a dear friend told me last week. “They’re offering 10x times what I’m making here.”

This was true. As Egypt’s plunged into an economic crisis fuelled by mismanaged public debt, depleted foreign exchange reserves, and grand infrastructure projects, millions of Egyptians left for greener pastures. Whether it was entrepreneurs, doctors, lawyers, or engineers, our finest minds were being lured away from their homes.

Meanwhile, gulf states like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates saw an opportunity to exploit Egypt’s suffering. Starting in 2021, a wave of Gulf acquisitions took place, buying up previously-stated owned companies as well as a wide range of private entities, including Egypt’s private healthcare market, as well as the Egyptian real estate market. Gulf states now own Egyptian companies that operate ports, are involved in petrochemicals and in the financial and retail sectors, as well as a series of historic hotels.

The largest of these investments came in early 2024, when the UAE poured $35 billion into a construction project at Ras al-Hikma—a Mediterranean peninsula near Alexandria. It was reportedly the largest single foreign investment in Egypt’s history. While it provided a much-needed boost to Egypt’s crumbling finances, it also marked a historic first: an Egyptian government selling off a piece of its prized coastline.

Egypt, it seemed, was well and truly for sale.

Saudi’s spending spree wasn’t limited to economic assets. For years, the kingdom’s domestic football league has set its sights on signing arguably Egypt’s greatest footballer: Mohamed Salah.