From Ajax prodigy to Barnsley flop: How Oakwell was final stop on Mido's crazy career | OneFootball

Mido's career took him on a 13-year journey around Europe, ending his playing days with Barnsley of all teams.

Egyptian striker Mido burst onto the European, and world, scene as a 17-year-old with his move to Belgian side Gent, though nobody could predict the end destination of his journey.

As a teenager, Mido thrust himself into the limelight in his native Egypt by bagging three goals in just four games for boyhood club Zamalek, attracting the attention of Gent in Belgium.

Initially, the young Egyptian struggled to adapt to life on a new continent and even briefly returned home, but Mido persevered and forced his way into the Gent first team, scoring 11 goals and assisting a further four in his debut season in Belgium.

It wouldn't take long for the talented Mido to be on the move again, with Dutch giants Ajax signing Mido on a five-year deal in 2001.

Although he would grab 39 goal contributions in 63 games in all competitions in the Dutch capital, Mido's time at the club was blighted by controversy off the pitch.

Then-manager Ronald Koeman relegated him to the reserves over a perceived lack of effort in training, with him later admitting to also throwing a pair of scissors at Zlatan Ibrahimovic following an argument in March 2003.

A loan to Celta Vigo followed, with separate permanent moves to both Marseille and Roma having not gone to plan. The Egyptian would soon be on his way to England, the seventh country of his career.

Mido would eventually land in the English Premier League

Spurs would secure the signing of Mido on an initial 18-month loan from Roma in the hope of reigniting his career, having not scored a goal during his sixth-month stint in the Italian capital.

He scored 13 times in 36 games for the Lilywhites, with then-manager Martin Jol expressing an interest in signing the striker on a permanent basis from Roma.

Mido would eventually rejoin the club, but after just one season he was on the move again after just one goal and four yellow cards in 12 Premier League games, this time to the North East of England with Middlesbrough.

He spent four years contracted to the club, but just two-and-a-half of those were actually with the club, having spent the final 18 months of his deal on-loan with Wigan Athletic, Zamalek and West Ham United, where he failed to re-find any sort of form.

Barnsley would be Mido's final club as a professional footballer before an early retirement

A brief return to Ajax followed in 2010, where he would play just five times before joining former club Zamalek for the third time, where it seemed his career would finish.

However, bizarrely, Mido agreed to join South Yorkshire club Barnsley on a one-year deal in June 2012 with the club in the Championship.

Predictably, Mido's time at the Tykes was short, and probably not so sweet, as he would play just 27 minutes of competitive football for the club after coming on as a substitute for Kelvin Etuhu in a 1-0 home defeat to Huddersfield Town that November.

He would leave the club after just six months, being released by mutual consent in January, with his final professional playing minutes coming as a substitute at Oakwell at just 30-years-old, a far cry from the teenager that lit up the Johan Cruyff Arena just over 10 years prior.

Mido has since embarked on his managerial career, which has seen him manage six different clubs in 2014, including two separate stints at Zamalek, with his last managerial position coming in 2023.

From bagging goals in the Champions League to a solitary substitute appearance in the Championship for Barnsley less than 10 years apart, Mido's career could have, and should have, been so much more.