Mostafa Mohamed (footballer)

Mostafa Mohamed Ahmed Abdallah (مصطفى محمد أحمد عبد الله; born 28 November 1997) is an Egyptian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Ligue 1 club Nantes and the Egypt national team.

Zamalek
Mohamed started playing at the age of 11 with Zamalek, then had several loan spells at the beginning of his senior career. On 2 January 2020, he scored a goal in the 42nd minute for Zamalek upon his return against Aswan in the 11th round of the Egyptian League. Later that month, on 28 January, Mohamed scored a long-range goal in the 15th minute against Wadi Degla, which ended in a 1–1 draw.

Galatasaray
On 1 February 2021, Süper Lig club Galatasaray signed Mohamed on a one-and-a-half-year loan for a reported fee of $2 million, with an option to buy for $4 million. He became the first Egyptian to sign for the Istanbul-based club.

Mohamed scored on his debut on 2 February, coming on as a 46th minute substitute in a 3–0 Süper Lig win against İstanbul Başakşehir; he scored his side's third goal from a penalty. In his second game for Galatasaray, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 away win against Fenerbahçe in the 54th minute on 6 February.

On 27 December 2021, Galatasaray activated his redemption clause and he signed until 2025.

Nantes
On 21 July 2022, Galatasaray announced that Mohammed was loaned out to French club Nantes for one year. On 28 August 2022, he scored his first Ligue 1 goal in a 3–1 win over Toulouse. On 8 September, he scored his first goal in European competitions in a 2–1 win over Olympiacos in the Europa League. After having failed to score in subsequent European competition matches, he returned to scoring on 3 November in the second leg against Olympiacos. With his goal he helped Nantes to reach the knockout round play-offs against Juventus.

On 7 January 2023, Mohamed made his debut in Coupe de France against AF Virois, scoring his first goal in the competition. He also helped his team in the next round against ES Thaon, by scoring the last penalty in a 4–2 win.

On 14 June 2023, the club exercised the option to make the move permanent, the striker signing a four-year deal with the French club.

Youth
Mohamed has played for both the Egypt U-20 team and the Egypt U-23 team, representing Egypt in the 2019 Africa U-23 Cup of Nations, scoring Egypt's opening goal of a 1–0 win over Mali in the group stage. He went on to score in his following two matches, one goal in a 3–2 win over Ghana, and two goals in a 2–1 win over Cameroon, with Egypt winning their first title by defeating Ivory Coast 2–1 in the final. Mohamed earned the tournament's golden boot.

Senior
On 23 March 2019, Mohamed made his debut for the Egypt national team in the Africa Cup of Nations qualification, in a 1–1 away draw against Niger. On 5 September 2021, he scored his first senior international goal in a 1–1 draw against Gabon in 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification.

Controversy
On 14 May 2023, Mohamed refused to represent Nantes in a Ligue 1 match against Toulouse due to the game being a part of a league-wide campaign against homophobia and team uniforms featuring a rainbow-themed decoration. He was subsequently fined by his club, with the undisclosed amount being donated to anti-homophobia charity group SOS Homophobie.

On 19 May 2024, Mohamed once again refused to play in a Ligue 1 match on the occasion of the league-wide campaign against homophobia.

Personal life
On 23 July 2021, Mohamed celebrated his wedding with his wife.

International
Scores and results list Egypt's goal tally first.

Honours
Zamalek
 * Egypt Cup: 2019
 * Egyptian Super Cup: 2019–20
 * CAF Super Cup: 2020
 * CAF Champions League runner-up: 2019–20

Egypt U23
 * Africa U-23 Cup of Nations: 2019

Egypt
 * Africa Cup of Nations runner-up: 2021

Individual
 * Africa U-23 Cup of Nations Golden Boot: 2019