Fiorentina strived to increase the likes on their Facebook page until Mohamed Salah's arrival made all the difference, a club official said on Tuesday. Sergi Bernadi, business and development manager at the Italian Serie A club, was full of praise for Egyptian winger Salah as he spoke during a visit to Cairo to sign a "cooperation deal" with Ahly, Egypt's most successful club. The 22-year-old became a Florence fan favourite after putting in a string of impressive displays with Fiorentina, whom he joined on a six-month loan deal from English Premier League side Chelsea last January. "We are pleased with the popularity we gained because of Salah's arrival," Egyptian media quoted Bernadi as saying. "When just rumours surfaced that we would sign Salah, our page jumped to 300,000 likes from Egyptian supporters. We have been trying to reach 1 million likes for seven years until Salah's arrival helped us exceed that!" he added. Fiorentina's official Facebook page includes 1.6 million fans and is constantly flooded by Egyptian comments on any post, even if it's not related to Salah. The former Basel winger has been a revelation since joining Fiorentina, scoring nine goals in 24 appearances in all competitions. His typical solo runs and forays forward prompted many to lavish praise on him. Fiorentina have an option to extend his loan deal next season. "We are in negotiations [with Chelsea] to keep Salah next term," Bernadi said. (For more sports news andupdates, followAhramOnlineSportson Twitter at@AO_Sportsand onFacebookatAhramOnlineSports.) http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/130692.aspx
