Four British teams have made history this season, reaching the finals of the UEFA Champions League and Europa League and bringing back the glories of the nation which established the modern rules of the game.
Interestingly, the four English clubs have in their squads a significant number of Muslim players.
In the first part, we covered the Europa League title which Chelsea have won by beating Arsenal 4-1.
Competing for Europe’s Top Title (Champions League):
On June 1, England’s top and most titled club Liverpool will challenge Tottenham Hotspur from London for Europe’s highest tier cup. Both squads are starred with several Muslim players.
Liverpool Muslim Players
Mohamed Salah
For ‘The Reds’ squad, the list starts with the Egyptian winger and forward Mohamed Salah who is considered by experts to be one of the best players in the world.
Mo started with El Mokawloon club then Basel, Chelsea, Fiorentina, and Roma, before moving to Liverpool for a then club-record fee of £36.9 million. His record-breaking performances have earned him a number of accolades.
Sadio Mane
Sadio Mané
Sadio Mané, 27, of the Muslim West African country of Senegal is also one of Liverpool’s top stars who played as a winger for Metz, Red Bull Salzburg where he won the Austrian double Bundesliga and Cup, then he signed for Southampton.
Mané has earned 60 caps for Senegal since his debut in 2012 and represented the national team at the 2012 Olympics, 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, 2017 Africa Cup of Nations and the 2018 FIFA World Cup. A few days ago, Mané won the 2019 Premier League Golden Boot with 22 goals.
Naby Laye Keïta
Naby Laye Keïta
Naby Laye Keïta, 24, is a Guinean professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Premier League club Liverpool and captains the Guinea national team. Keïta played for FC Istres, RB Leipzig and Red Bull Salzburg where he won the Austrian double Bundesliga and Cup before moving to Liverpool.
Xherdan Shaqiri
‘The Reds’ short and fast winger is Xherdan Shaqiri, 27, who hails from the Muslim European country of Albania. Shaqiri played for FC Basel, winning honors including three Swiss Super Leagues, before moving to Bayern Munich, where he won eight domestic titles. He also played for Inter Milan and Stoke City in addition to representing the Swiss national team at 2010, 2014 and 2018 World Cups, as well as Euro 2016.
Tottenham’s Muslim Players:
Moussa Sissoko
Moussa Sissoko
Moussa Sissoko, 29, is a box-to-box center and attacking midfielder and sometimes right winger for ‘Spurs’.
Sissoko hails from Mali but was born in France and thus represents it through its national teams. Before Tottenham, Moussa has played for Espérance Aulnay, AS Red Star 93, Toulouse, and Newcastle United.
Serge Aurier
Serge Aurier
Serge Aurier, 26, from Côte d’Ivoire. Aurier lives in France and has previously played for Lens, Toulouse, and Paris Saint-Germain, winning 11 major trophies with the last. On the international level, he plays for the national team of his African motherland.