Mohamed Aboutrika (Arabic: ???? ??? ??????; born 7 November 1978) is a retired Egyptian professional footballer who played as a second striker and an attacking midfielder for the Egyptian club Al Ahly and Egypt national team; he also played for Tersana, as well as Baniyas.
With nicknames such as "El Magico", "Amir El Qolob" (prince of hearts) and "Arab's Zidane", he is often considered the best midfielder in the Egyptian history and is widely regarded as one of the greatest African footballers of all time.
Aboutrika has the record of most
Africa Best Player of the Year (4 times, in 2006, 2008, 2012, and 2013).
The award is given by CAF for the players based in Africa.
He also came second in the African Footballer of the Year award in 2008 after Emmanuel Adebayor, and was one of five nominees for the 2006 award, and one of the ten nominated for the 2013 award.
Aboutrika won the African Cup of Nations in 2006 with the Egyptian national team.
He also scored the winning goal to help Egypt win the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations.
He helped his club Al-Ahly to win the bronze medal in the FIFA Club World Cup in 2006.