Shikabala joined the youth academy of Zamalek SC when he was 8-years-old and made his first team appearance in a cup match early in 2002,[2] scoring the winning goal at the age of 16.

He remained with the first team squad since then but had very limited playing time and no professional contract, which is why he was able to leave Zamalek and join PAOK FC in January 2005 for no transfer fee.

[2] When Shikabala initially returned to Egypt from Greece in January 2007, it was amidst controversy as he signed for arch rivals Al Ahly.

Shika quickly carved a place for himself in Henri Michel's starting line-up gradually replacing club legend and fans' idol Hazem Emam.

He enjoyed a mixed season where Zamalek struggled in the league, and he faced a lengthy ban after Al Ahly fans chanted profanities against him in the 100th Cairo derby leading to him responding by lifting his shoes to them.

The following season was no different until Zamalek appointed Hossam Hassan in December 2009 who gradually lifted the team from obscurity into consistently challenging for trophies once again.

The ultras adore him and the management refused numerous offers for him notably from Anderlecht and made him the highest paid player in the history of Egypt.

Zamalek then stated that Napoli had failed to send agent to Cairo to officially sign Shikabala on the agreed upon deadline and the deal fell through.

Several reports stated that Qatari Lekhwiya SC, Saudi Al Shabab and Ittihad Jeddah, Romanian Vaslui, German VfB Stuttgart, Spanish Espanyol, Napoli and their Italian counterparts Udinese were all battling for Shikabala's signature.

His official debut was against Ittihad Kalba in the Emirates Cup where he put in a man of the match performance in 4–2 win for Al Wasl.

After a crushing 5–0 loss to fellow league club Al Ain, Shikabala appeared a few days later with Egyptian super star singer Tamer Hosny, during one of his concerts in the UAE.

On 29 March 2013, English side Nottingham Forest Club president Fawaz Al-Hasawi expressed great interest in signing the player in the summer of 2013.

[citation needed] As the 2013–14 Egyptian Premier League season was approaching in late December 2013, Shikabala caused yet more controversy by not showing up for training and threatening to terminate his contract with Zamalek unless he was paid his late wages over the past 3 years (from January 2011 to January 2014), which all accumulated to about 5.5 million Egyptian Pounds (almost 791,000 US dollars).

There were many rumors however linking Shikabala to many clubs in Europe after putting fine displays for Zamalek over the years and during his loan spell at Al Wasl.

His most notable contribution was his goal against Azores XI during the Pedro Pauleta Trophy, ending the tournament with a 2–1 for Sporting CP and smashing the record number of live viewers through the club's official website.

[5] His Portuguese representative, Paulo Faria, made a lot of negative remarks about his behavior since their friendly match with Ittihad Alexandria in early August 2014.

"Zamalek chairman Mortada Mansour has approved a five-season contract deal with the player," the club's official website stated.

He was immediately loaned to Egyptian league side Ismaily SC as there was no place for the player in Zamalek's closed squad.

[10] While he has never played a major role on the national team, Shikabala has made several appearances during key parts of Egypt's recent history.

He returned to the squad on 12 November 2017, where he scored his second official international goal against Ghana in Egypt's final World Cup qualifier.