Top two Middle-eastern footballers who are making their presence felt in the European football right now

From receiving prestigious awards and launching new tournaments to the purchase of controversial clubs, 2020 proved to be a huge year for the beautiful game in the Middle East.

The health challenges faced globally had a significant impact on football too, introducing multiple changes to the way the game is played. While some players’ progress got hindered owing to unexpected developments, others bowed out without much to look forward to. Having said that, there are some very good footballers from the Middle East region right now, good enough to fit into any top-rated football club of the world. In fact, bagging any of them for a side can be considered as good as winning a jackpot at an online casino!

Mohamed Salah - Egypt

The talented Egyptian footballer has now gotten used to receiving accolades from every quarter, and has risen exponentially ever since joining Liverpool FC in 2017. He has won multiple awards including a couple of African Footballer of the Year awards, PFA Players’ Player of the Year and two Premier League Golden Boots. Who can forget Salah’s opening goal for Liverpool in the Champions League final of 2019, which helped the club lift the top trophy of the European football.

In 2020, Salah unarguably pulled off the biggest accomplishment of his football career – helping Liverpool FC bag the English Premier League title after a gap of 30 years. By doing so, the talented Egyptian footballer also became the first-ever footballer from his country to win the Premier League winner’s medal.

Considering how he’s been playing of late, there is a good probability that he will end up on the podium once again, along with his fellow Liverpool teammates, this season. Not to forget, the very good chance he has of winning the Golden Boot once again.

Sardar Azmoun - Iran

Iran is a well-known Middle Eastern country which has produced top-notch football talent, time and again, over the decades. Who can forget Ali Daie, the former captain and striker of the Iranian national football team, who scored a whopping 109 goals for his country, the most ever in the history of men’s international football, and also a record which is being currently chased by the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and others!

Sardar Azmoun is a talented 25 year old Iranian forward who is creating records of his own. He plays for the Russian club Zenit St Petersburg, and is the youngest ever Iranian to score a goal in the European Champions League. Not just that, he also holds the record for scoring the maximum number of goals by an Iranian during a single season of the Champions League.

Azmoun successfully won the Russian football league championship for Zenit twice during the first two years spent at the club. He won the Golden Boot award too after scoring an impressive 17 goals during the 2019-20 football season. He has been regularly finding the back of the net for the Iranian national side as well, having scored a prolific 37 goals in 55 appearances.