‘Salah’s my favorite player, he’s polite & good-tempered’ – Iranian viral sensation on hero (VIDEO)

The Iranian youngster who became a worldwide viral sensation when he was filmed perfectly recreating a Pepsi ad featuring Mohamed Salah has spoken about his love for his footballing hero.

Mohamad Taha Pourhosseini, 7, made headlines around the globe when footage swept social media showing him volleying a football through a tire from several meters away.

The football-mad youngster was recreating a scene from a recent Pepsi ad which shows star Liverpool forward Mo Salah trading tricks with Barcelona great Lionel Messi, including pulling off the striking feat of skill and accuracy with the tire.

Pourhosseini has now been tracked down to the city of Shiraz in Iran, where he spoke more about his love of the game and showed off his impressive array of tricks in a video from RT’s Ruptly agency.        

The youngster is seen wearing a replica Liverpool shirt with the name and number of his hero Salah on the back, practicing his ‘keep-ups’ on the street outside his home.

He also talks about his love of “polite, good-tempered” Salah while sitting in his bedroom, which is adorned with photos of the man nicknamed the ‘Egyptian King’.

“Mohamed Salah is my favorite player, and he is polite, good-tempered and a Muslim,” the youngster says.  

“So I follow all his matches and challenges and I decided to carry out this challenge,” he adds, referring to Salah’s Pepsi ad feats.

He also repeats his trick of volleying the ball through a tire – showing that it was by no means a fluke – and then celebrating in Salah’s typical style.

Salah and Liverpool endured a frustrating weekend as they slipped up in their Premier League title push, being held to a 0-0 draw at Everton in the Merseyside derby.

The result means Manchester City sit one point ahead at the top of the table with nine games to play, potentially bursting Liverpool’s bubble as they aim for a first league title in 29 years.