Liverpool could get a boost in their attempts to keep hold of Mohamed Salah after he was tipped to win the Ballon d'Or.
Salah longs to be crowned the best footballer in the world and knows that with his 33rd birthday fast approaching, he can only achieve that success if he plays in Europe. He can dictate his wages if he were to join Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia's Pro League, but he knows they would not give him the global platform he has at Anfield.
It is a more open race for the Ballon d'Or, with no major national championships this summer and Salah feels this could be his year. The Egyptian star scored his record-breaking 50th European goal for Liverpool against Lille and now has 22 goals and 18 assists from his phenomenal season.
He knows he has a great chance of winning the Ballon d'Or if he can lead the Reds to Premier League or Champions League glory. This could help Liverpool in their quest to agree a deal with Salah, whose current deal expires in June, and they are at odds over the terms and duration of a new deal.
Former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock believes Salah is in pole position to win the Ballon d'Or due to his red-hot form. “I think so, yes, given the way he plays, but football can change very quickly,” he told Spinbet.
“If you finish the Champions League well and start scoring goals, things could change quite quickly, but in the current form absolutely.” While Liverpool fans have always loved Salah, Warnock believes he is 'underrated' away from Anfield.
“I think it's interesting that for a number of years he was never in the Ballon d'Or and you wonder how the stats are going and what he's achieved,” said Warnock. “The most important thing for Mohamed Salah is that there are games where he is quiet and then emerges with a magical moment.
“That's what his game is all about: praying for lapses in concentration and mistakes from defenders and he's ready to take advantage of that. He is not underrated by Liverpool fans and the Premier League, but perhaps for some reason also outside the league.
“I'm not sure why, but maybe there are other names on the tips of people's tongues.” If you talk about what Vinicius Junior did last year and thought he should have won the Ballon d'Or, Salah is already ahead of the stats in terms of what he achieved last season. It's probably very frustrating for him because he will feel like he should be more in the mix for those awards.”
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