Long read: Mohamed Elneny on his inspirations

Mohamed Elneny’s main inspirations can be summed up fairly easily. The desire to win, and the memory of his late mother, who sacrificed so much to help him realise his dream of becoming a professional footballer.

In this exclusive interview with the matchday programme, the Egypt international midfielder tells us all about what inspires him on a daily basis, and how his early days shaped his winning mentality.

In El Mahalla El Kubra, northern Egypt, back in July 1992, Mohamed Elneny was born into a life in football. It was always going to be that way. Call it fate, destiny or just an incredible determination to succeed on behalf of himself and his parents, but Mo’s path into the sport was…