The official Facebook page of Egypt's most popular athlete Mohamed Abou-Treika has published a post containing not a single word, gaining widespread interaction from fans, mostly from Egypt and the Arab region.

More than 220,000 Facebook users liked the post within less than 24 hours of its publication on Monday, while it also attracted 29,000 comments and 24,000 shares.

"This post was supposed to contain a photo but I don't know where it went," the 39-year-old former Ahly and Egypt national player explained in a comment accompanied by a laughing emoticon on the same post, a short time after publishing it on his official, 5.5 million-times-liked page.

In comparison with other posts, the empty one surpassed most of Abou-Treika's latest, including an emotional statement he posted after the Court of Cassation overturned an earlier decision, which placed him on a terrorist list over alleged ties to the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood group.

However, Abou-Treika, who currently lives and works in Qatar, will remain registered on a terrorist list - with his assets frozen - under a separate criminal court decision made in April 2018 in a similar case.

Abou-Treika, who denied ties with the state-antagonized group, hung up his boots in 2013 and currently works as a sports analyst for Qatar's beIN sports network.

The former Egypt and Ahly midfielder was dubbed "the Magician," "Prince of Hearts" and "the Saint" during his playing days, after he inspired Ahly to win over 25 domestic and continental titles and led his national team to three consecutive Africa Cup of Nations titles.

His popularity in Egypt is usually compared with that of the star Mohamed Salah, the best player in the English Premier League, who has proven his worth to earn a place among the most popular athletes of the region.

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