The chatter among Barcelona fans this summer was all about who would be the club’s next star striker after Robert Lewandowski – the team’s top scorer for the past four seasons – left to play in the United States. The 18-year-old Egyptian, Hamza Abdelkarim, was not an answer anyone would have given at the beginning of preseason. This time last year, he had only played a single game at senior level, and that was for Cairo giants Al Ahly.
But as Barca’s dogged pursuit of Argentinian striker Julian Alvarez from rivals Atletico Madrid ended in failure, and the club only managed to secure a 10 million euros ($11.5m) move for Gabriel Jesus on the transfer window’s deadline day on September 1, Abdelkarim emerged from obscurity to dominate headlines in Catalonia and Egypt. Abdelkarim’s four goals in five games made him Barcelona’s top scorer during preseason. He even scored against his boyhood club, Al Ahly, in the Joan Gamper Trophy – the fixture that is used to introduce the team to the fans and inaugurate the league season – but chose not to celebrate the goal as a mark of respect.
Fans in Egypt and Barcelona have taken to calling him the Egyptian Erling Haaland on account of his physical prowess and presence in the box. When the striker caught the eye of FC Barcelona, a low-risk, low-commitment agreement was struck in the winter transfer window with Al Ahly to bring him to Spain. A six-month loan period was cut in half due to paperwork issues, but Abdelkarim made up for lost time by scoring goals; not for the first team, or even the reserves, but the Under-19 team – netting six times in 11 games.
Abdelkarim had also impressed for Egypt at the 2025 U17 World Cup, grabbing two goals and an assist in four appearances. Despite the lack of top-level experience, Abdelkarim had done enough to prompt Egypt national team manager Hossam Hassan to take a gamble by selecting the uncapped teenager for his World Cup 2026 squad. The veteran Mostafa Mohammed was left at home in favour of Abdelkarim, who went on to make his debut against Brazil in a friendly and featured in four World Cup matches.
On the advice of Mohamed Salah, the striker decided not to take a vacation after the World Cup and returned to Barcelona immediately after Egypt were knocked out by Argentina in the round of 16. He is an example to be followed, and the success he achieved is not by accident,” he told Egypt’s OnSport after FC Barcelona lifted the Joan Gamper Trophy. The exposure to a professional like Salah has only served to supercharge Abdelkarim’s development.
Barcelona had already seen enough and decided to make his loan move permanent in June, paying Al Ahly 1.5 million euros ($1.75m) for his services. The only other Egyptian-born player to have played in La Liga was Mido, who came through the ranks at Zamalek before leaving Egypt as a 17-year-old in 2000 and played in Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, France, Italy and England. At the turn of the century, most Egyptians followed Mido’s progress through newspapers and local talk shows.
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