Panaji: After years of waiting, we finally have a player to talk about other than Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo with Mohamed

making waves this season at Liverpool.

Thousands of miles away, another Egyptian,

, is drawing inspiration from the Premier League star and is working tirelessly to make a difference with his talent in India.

The 28-year-old midfielder arrived in Goa and established himself in the

with

, making nine appearances, scoring an impressive seven goals and making five assists since February.

Riad had played in all four divisions in his country. This, his first stint abroad, is an effort to get his career back on track after it all fell apart in 2011 in the wake of the Egyptian revolution which ended only two years later.

“I lost my career as a professional and tried to keep playing. There was no football league for three years and all the players were hoping for the revolution to end,” said Riad, who even joined the army for a year in 2014.

Interestingly, Riad is not the only Egyptian to play in India as Churchill Brothers SC had recruited Abdelhamid Shabana in the 2013-14 I-League season.

“I heard very good things about India and knew football is developing here on a wider scale. I just want to play and enjoy my game.

“With my age it’s not that easy to play in Europe but I still want to pursue my career. I had to start my career all over again and in my country it is not that easy. I had to explore more options and play outside to improve my game,” said Riad, who is hopeful to play in the I-League or Indian Super League some day.

Salah has already broken the club record of most goals in the debut season by scoring 43 times and is on course to break another record of most goals in a season set by Liverpool legend Ian Rush (47) in 1983-84.

He has not only rediscovered his form after falling out at Chelsea but the former AS Roma striker has opened a window of opportunity for many footballers from Egypt.

“Salah is such an inspiration to us. He is the best we have ever produced and it is time for him to win the Balon d’Or this time,” said Riad.

Riad has just played two matches in the Goa

where his team was unfortunate to be knocked out in the quarterfinals on penalties but the midfielder grabbed a brace in each game and was also awarded the Man-of-the-Match award.

Such talent is hard to ignore and Riad is hopeful to return next season in a bigger role.