More than one million voters in the recent Egyptian presidential election spoiled their ballot papers, and some of those who did wrote in the name of Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah instead.

As reported by the Economist, while the election was eventually won by Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, who picked up 92 per cent of the vote ahead of his opponent Moussa Mustafa Moussa, it’s noted a number of people crossed out both names in favour of the Egyptian international footballer.

“By Friday afternoon, state media had stopped reporting on the ruined ballots and credited Mr Sisi with winning 97 per cent of the valid vote,” continued the piece.

The votes for Salah are a mark of his popularity in his homeland, after helping the Pharaohs seal a world cup ticket and his blistering season with Liverpool in the Premier League.