Mohamed Elneny now has his own football club and is joining the likes of Ryan Reynolds and Tom Brady in taking aim at promotion to the Premier League.
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Gunners midfielder now has his own clubSetting the most ambitious of goalsEgyptian is prepared to dream bigWHAT HAPPENED?
The Egypt international is still very much focused on his playing career for now, with the 31-year-old midfielder tied to a contract at Arsenal. He has, however, already branched out into the world of ownership after starting his own team, Elneny FC.
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Elneny FC are currently in the process of acquiring players through a number of trials, with the plan being to play friendlies for the next year before then entering the football pyramid. Elneny hopes to see them reach the very top, telling reporters of his grand plan: “I have told so many people and they are just laughing at me because when I say I want to play in the Premier League one day, they just say ‘How? The Premier League is the best in the world and you want to get there from zero?’ Some people just don’t get the idea but for me, I love to dream, that is why I need good people around me. I think the players we sign will be excited and then I am going put the idea every time when we train them: ‘we want to be in the Premier League one day’. Of course, it could take 15 years, 20 years but we have the target where we want to be. I love to dream. What am I going to lose? I’m going to work every day about this.”
WHAT THEY SAID
Elneny does have plenty of spare time on his hands, with only one Carabao Cup appearance taken in for Arsenal this season to go with the eight outings he took in last term. He is not looking for a way out of Emirates Stadium, though, and has added on signing a contract extension in February 2023: “It was one of the happiest days in my life, really. The way they talked to me, the way all the club was happy about this decision, they made me cry this day. I said ‘oh my God’. Arsenal Football Club, they know I love them 100 per cent so much, they know I don’t want to leave. I want to stay and finish my career there.”
Getty/GOALWHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
Elneny has a long way to go with his project outside of Arsenal, but the likes of Reynolds and Brady have shown at Wrexham and Birmingham respectively that interest can build quickly in intriguing sporting challenges that boast lofty ambitions.