Forget the Premier League. According to recent speculation, Mohamed Salah might just be the best player in the world. Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp certainly thinks so. Given his performances in the Premier League so far and his most recent assist + goal in Liverpool vs Watford, Salah is putting on an even greater show than in 2018, when he was labelled a ‘one-season wonder’.
The Egyptian star has now scored in each of his past eight games in the Premier League for the Reds, which is a record in itself. If continued, he would surpass Daniel Sturridge, the only other footballer to complete such a feat since February 2014. However, Salah’s talents do not extend to the Premier League only, which makes us wonder — is he worthy of this year’s Ballon d’Or?
In Liverpool’s match against Atletico Madrid recently, Salah managed to score two of the team’s three goals and surpassed Steven Gerrard — Liverpool legend — to become the club’s top Champions League scorer with 31 goals. He also became the first Liverpool player to score in nine consecutive matches against teams such as, Chelsea, Manchester City, Watford and finally, Atletico.
Every year, the star striker only seems to get better. Judging from his performances, it is clear that he has reached his sporting maturity and can be counted amongst Sportingbet’s analysis of Europe’s Deadliest Strikers, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski and Luis Suarez.
So, is Mohamed Salah worthy of winning a Ballon d’Or, or is he still quite underrated? Currently, no other player possesses the control levels and technical skills with the ball in pressurizing situations. Liverpool has proved to be a fantastic place for him to thrive and allowed his technique, creativity and skillset to shine through.
A crucial element over here that many people tend to overlook is not that Salah scores many goals — it’s that he scores many GREAT goals. One cannot fathom how the Egyptian striker produces the goals in situations where it seems impossible to. Only a player of great calibre is able to find the back of nets with such consistency. Salah is setting a new standard, and if it were up to Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, Salah would be this year’s Ballon d’Or winner already.
Speaking to BT Sport after the Watford win, Klopp commented: “He is top. We all see it. Who is better than him?
“His performance was massive today. The pass for the first goal was great, and the second goal was special.”
“He’s the kind of player who can do these things for us.
“They are different goals. The other one was slightly more dynamic with more space. Neither goal is possible for people with normal feet but it’s possible for him and that makes it really special. You could see the way the team celebrated the goal that everyone knew it was something special.
“We don’t have to talk about what Messi and Ronaldo have done for world football and their dominance. But right now, he [Salah] is the best.
“I see him every day. There are people like [Robert] Lewandowski and Ronaldo and Messi and [Kylian] Mbappe, but at this moment, for sure he’s on top of that list.”
