Exclusive: The Egyptian Designer Behind Mo Salah’s Adidas Boots
Mo Salah’s Custom Boots weren’t made for walking. They were made for history. And they were made by an Egyptian.
Remember those custom boots Mohamed Salah wore for his final game with Liverpool? The ones Adidas gave him to mark the end of an era at Anfield: gold-striped, hand-sketched, and never-for-sale? Well, turns out they weren’t just made for a game. They were made for history. And they were made by another Egyptian.
Enter Abdu Galal. A designer born in Cairo, now based in Nürnberg, and maybe the most important name you haven’t heard yet. Because when the Egyptian King stepped onto the pitch on May 25, it wasn’t just his name that was going down in Premier League lore, it was Galal’s too. And we’ve got the exclusive first look at the original sketches that brought Salah’s final-match boots to life.
When he sat down to design the final boots of his favourite footballer, he wasn’t designing for a client, nor even for a person, he was designing for a myth.
“I thought I’d be overwhelmed,” he wrote on Instagram. “I’ve followed every match, every goal, every celebration. So how do you separate being a fan…from being a designer?”
You don’t. That’s the point. These boots were designed for Salah’s feet, yes, but also for every Egyptian watching from afar. These boots may never sit on a store shelf, or behind auction glass; they represent something more than commercial value. They mark a moment of connection: from one Egyptian legend to another in the making.
“This wasn’t a product launch,” Galal explains . “It was a love letter. From one Egyptian to another. From fan to hero. From story to legacy.”
And then came the moment. Final game. Final goal. Final boots. Salah equalised in the 84th minute, a record-matching 29th goal of the season. One last magic trick from the magician. And at the centre of it all? At the source of the legacy-consolidating feat? Galal’s boots.
The designer’s own story is its own kind of odyssey. A graduate of Miami Ad School Europe, Galal has brought his hybrid eye to projects with Facebook, IKEA, and now Adidas, where he’s been full-time since 2022. His work has been recognised by everyone from The One Show to the Webby Awards. Yet, this task felt less professional, and entirely personal. In the hand-sketched fuzziness of the sketches, this love shines through.
"There was something different about this project," Galal wrote. "It wasn't just a boot. It was a
thank you. A visual celebration of his records, his roots, and his bond with the fans."
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