MENA Sports Wrap: Mo Salah breaks Premier League record with historic season opener for Liverpool

Egyptian national Mo Salah made Premier League history by becoming the player with the most opening-day goals, as Liverpool secured a 2-0 win over Premier League newbies Ipswich Town.

Meanwhile, two Manchester City stars, Kyle Walker and Joao Cancelo, are being pursued by a Saudi Pro League giant, as Cristiano Ronaldo faced frustration after Al-Nassr's 4-1 defeat to Al-Hilal in the Saudi Super Cup final. Meanwhile, Morocco has revealed plans to build the world's largest stadium for the 2030 World Cup final.

Salah makes Premier League history with season-opener goal

Liverpool footballer Mo Salah made an excellent start to his season on Saturday, scoring a goal for the Merseyside club against Ipswich Town as the 2024/2025 Premier League season kicked off over the weekend.

Salah's strike against the newly promoted club made him the player with the highest number of goals on the opening day of any season, surpassing the likes of Frank Lampard, Alan Shearer, and Wayne Rooney.

The Egyptian king, who has played for Liverpool since 2017, has now scored a total of nine goals on the first day of the Premier League.

His goal, which came in the 65th minute, sealed the deal for the Reds securing three points on their season opener.

Salah also provided the assist for teammate Diogo Jota's opener, which came in the 60th minute. The assist is Salah's fifth overall on an opening day, tying his record with Wayne Rooney.

The match also marked Arne Slot's first competitive game as Liverpool manager.

Since signing for Liverpool, there has only been one season where the forward did not score for the Reds, which was last season when Liverpool drew 1-1 against Chelsea.

Two Manchester City stars in the eyes of Saudi Pro League club

Two big names from Manchester City are reportedly in the crosshairs of a top Saudi Pro League club, which appears to rebuff talk that Riyadh is scaling back its footballing ambitions.

Al-Hilal, who beat Riyadh rivals Al-Nassr for the Saudi Super Cup last week, is reportedly pursuing the Premier League title holder's two star full-backs, Kyle Walker and Joao Cancelo, who were both dropped from Manchester City's starting XI on Sunday against Chelsea. 

Club captain Walker was on the bench for City's 2-0 win over Chelsea and was not needed on the pitch, while Cancelo, the 30-year-old Portuguese defender, wasn't even named in the 20-man squad.

At 34 and with a wealth of experience, Kyle Walker would be the perfect addition to the Saudi Pro League, joining Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, and Neymar in the star-studded competition.

In this summer's Euros, Walker showed he is still one of the world's best defenders, frequently out-pacing younger forwards and with a more than 90 percent pass rate.

West London side Brentford are meanwhile in talks with SPL side Al-Ahli over Ivan Toney's future. The 28-year-old forward didn't play for Brentford during their 2-1 win over Crystal Palace, and while manager Thomas Frank did not mention the Jeddah side by name, he admitted that transfer talks were a factor in not selecting Toney for the squad in Sunday's game.

"There's a lot of things going on with Ivan. There's some transfer interest. Because of all that, we decided not to involve him in the squad," he said.

When questioned further on whether Toney's next game might be in the SPL, he indicated this is still not a done deal.

"Who knows? There's interest but there's nothing close."

Frustrated Ronaldo snubs silver medal after Al-Nassr's Saudi Super Cup final defeat

Cristiano Ronaldo left the Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Stadium in frustration on Saturday, opting not to collect his silver medal after Al-Nassr suffered a 4-1 defeat in the Saudi Super Cup final.

The 39-year-old had aimed to secure his second trophy since joining the Saudi club in January 2023, following their victory in the Arab Club Champions Cup last season.

Ronaldo scored in Wednesday's 2-0 semi-final win over Al-Taawoun and added another goal in Saturday's final, giving Al-Nassr a 1-0 lead before half-time.

However, Al-Hilal, who went undefeated to win last season's Saudi Pro League, responded with four goals in the second half, two of which were scored by former Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic.

Ronaldo was visibly frustrated as Al-Hilal f0und the net again and again, particularly after the Riyadh rival's fourth goal, coming after a mistake by Al-Nassr’s defence when goalkeeper Bento lost possession.

Ronaldo gestured toward his teammates, signalling they had been "asleep" during the game.

The Portuguese footballer made headlines again this week after breaking a record for gaining more than a million subscribers within 90 minutes of launching his YouTube channel.

"The wait is over. My @YouTube channel is finally here! SIUUUbscribe and join me on this new journey," Ronaldo posted on Wednesday on his social media accounts.

Within hours after posting his first video, 1.69 million people had subscribed to the newly launched digital channel.

Ronaldo has 112.5 million followers on the X platform, 170 million on Facebook, and 636 million on Instagram.

Morocco looks to construct the world's largest football stadium for the 2030 World Cup final

Morocco unveiled plans for the construction of the world's largest football stadium, potentially the venue for the 2030 World Cup final, with striking images showcasing the proposed site in the North African country.

The stadium will be the centre-piece of the joint World Cup bid by Morocco, Portugal, and Spain, with construction expected to begin soon.

The Grand Stade Hassan II in Casablanca is expected to seat 115,000 spectators and will rank among the biggest and most advanced sporting arenas globally.

Designed by Paris-based architects Oualalou + Choi and stadium specialists Populous, the structure draws inspiration from Morocco's traditional "moussem" gatherings, featuring a dramatic tented roof set within a forested landscape.