Liverpool star, recruited for IDF service, wins player of the year award

Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah is the first African player to with the Football Writers' Association Player of the Year Award.

By JPOST.COM STAFF, REUTERS
Updated: MAY 1, 2018 15:55
Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman and Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah (photo credit: JERUSAELM POST STAFF+ACTION IMAGES VIA REUTERS/CARL RECINE)
Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman and Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah
(photo credit: JERUSAELM POST STAFF+ACTION IMAGES VIA REUTERS/CARL RECINE)
Liverpool's Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah has been voted Player of the Year by the Football Writers' Association (FWA) to complete the double of English soccer's major individual awards.
Salah was chosen as player of the year by the Professional Footballers Association (PFA) after an outstanding season in which he has scored 43 goals in all competitions.
The 25-year-old is the first African player to win the FWA award which began in 1948. Salah has helped Liverpool, who are third in the Premier League, into the Champions League semi-finals for the first time in 10 years.
The Merseyside club face AS Roma in the second leg in the Italian capital on Wednesday and lead 5-2 from the opening game at Anfield in which Salah scored twice and set up two other goals.
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After the win, Israel's Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman took to Twitter saying he would instruct the IDF Chief of Staff to recruit the Liverpool star  and sign him up for permanent service.
"I'm calling the Chief of Staff right away and telling him to sign Mohamed Salah up for permanent duty," Liberman quipped.
Liberman, who is better known as a tennis enthusiast, followed up with a tweet saying "Liverpool is wonderful, but I still prefer the IDF."
Salah will head to the World Cup in Russia in June to play for Egypt who have been drawn with the hosts, Saudi Arabia and Uruguay in Group A.
Salah narrowly beat Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne in a ballot of over 400 FWA members, with the winning margin less than 20 votes. Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane was placed third.


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