- Footballer Ahmed Refaat has died at the age of 31 after suffering a cardiac arrest
- Refaat represented Egypt at international level and played alongside Mo Salah
- Egypt captain Salah led the tributes to Refaat following his death on Saturday
An international footballer from Egypt has died at the age of 31.
Ahmed Refaat – who scored two goals in seven senior appearances for Egypt between 2013 and 2022 – previously collapsed on the field during a game in March.
Refaat was playing for Modern Future FC against Al Ittihad Alexandria in the Egyptian Premier League when he suddenly fell to the ground and was rushed to hospital.
He was then placed in intensive care but was discharged from hospital one month later when he returned home.
However, Refaat – who had been fitted with a pacemaker – tragically passed away in the early hours of Saturday morning following a heart attack.
Ahmed Refaat, pictured playing for Egypt at the 2021 FIFA Arab Cup, has died at the age of 31
Refaat scored two goals in seven senior appearances for Egypt between 2013 and 2022
Liverpool star Mo Salah, a former international team-mate with Egypt, reacted to Saturday’s tragic news by sending a message of support to Refaat’s family.
Salah tweeted: ‘Survival is for God, and may God give patience to his family and all his loved ones.’
Refaat’s club, Modern Future, had earlier posted a statement that read: ‘O you who are confident, return to your Lord satisfied and ill, and enter into My servants and enter My Paradise.
‘With great patience, sadness and more faith in Allah’s will and destiny, Modern Sport Club announces the death of Ahmed Refaat, the first team player of the Egyptian national team, following a severe deterioration in his health condition.
‘He was transferred to the hospital, then to Allah, after a difficult journey of struggle following the health crisis that happened to him on March 11, 2024.’
Mo Salah, pictured playing for Liverpool, was a former international team-mate of Refaat
Salah posted a tribute, written in Arabic, to Refaat via social media on Saturday morning
Refaat, who spent much of his career playing as a winger, previously played for ENPPI SC, Al Ittihad Alexandria, Zamalek and Al Masry in Egypt, as well as for Al Wahda in the UAE.
He was a member of the Egypt side that won the African U-20 Championship in 2013, before lifting the Egyptian Super Cup with Zamalek in 2017 and the Egyptian League Cup with Modern Future in 2022.