Egypt are hoping to call up Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah for next summer’s Olympics in Paris.
Nations can field three non-U23 players in their squad for the tournament, which runs from 24 July to 10 August.
And Egypt coach Micale revealed that he hopes Salah can take one of those posts and lead his country to the French capital.
“We have another year to think about the matter and assess the situation, but we certainly welcome Salah. Salah is as important as Neymar in Brazil,” he said on Egyptian television.
This Is Anfield are aware that Liverpool have the power to block any call-ups as the Olympic Games are not a FIFA-sanctioned competition.
They exercised this right two years ago to prevent Salah, Ibrahima Konate and Takumi Minamino from attending the postponed Tokyo Games.
And while no decision has yet been made, this should again be an attractive option as the tournament schedule means a player’s pre-season would be significantly affected by their involvement.
Liverpool will also take into account that Salah will miss the start of 2024 due to the Africa Cup of Nations, which could see him miss up to ten games – two significant international misses not being taken lightly.
In the past, other Premier League clubs have been more receptive to the idea of allowing their stars to compete at the Olympics, despite the obvious disadvantages.
Richarlison made a late return to Everton’s pre-season in the summer of 2021 as he helped Brazil win gold in Japan.
Salah represented Egypt at the Olympics and was included in the London 2012 squad when he was 20 years old.
He scored three goals in four games as his country reached the quarter-finals before being knocked out by Japan.
