Is Liverpool’s Egyptian King on top of the world right now?
When Mohamed Salah first arrived at Anfield in 2017 for a then club record £36 million fee from Roma, few would have predicted that four years down the line he’d have played an influential part in bringing the Premier League title back to Merseyside for the first time in 30 years, along with a sixth European Cup.
The Egyptian King as he’s so famously known by the Kop, has established himself as one of the Liverpool’s most consistent performers over the last few seasons and has written himself into club folk law. However, now it seems the 29-year-old is finally receiving the global recognition he deserves.
Initially, many would whisper Salah’s name among the world’s elite, but based on his recent dazzling performances it seems that more and more people are starting to acknowledge and believe that Salah may just be the best player in the world.
He was labelled a one-season wonder a couple months after his record-breaking first season at the club in which he scored 32 league goals in 2017/18. The next year he continued to silence the haters, as he won the Champions League and the year after that the Premier League. It goes to show that it’s never a smart idea to doubt Mohamed Salah’s capabilities.
Salah has continued to impress this season for the Reds, scoring seven goals and four assists in eight league games this season and it doesn’t look like he’s about to slow down anytime soon.
The Egypt captain has scored two contenders for goal of the season in just this month alone against Manchester City at Anfield and Watford at the weekend. Both were trademark Salah goals, displaying individual skill and finishing of the highest quality.
Off the back of his side’s resounding 5-0 victory over Watford at the weekend, Jurgen Klopp was full of praise for his star man and said “In this moment he is the best player in the world.”
“His performance was massive today. The pass for the first goal was great and the second goal was special. He is top. We all see it. Who is better than him? We don’t have to talk about what Messi and Ronaldo have done for world football and their dominance. But right now, he is the best.”
Fellow teammate Virgil van Dijk also weighed in on the debate, saying “He’s an incredible player. He’s shown it the last few seasons consistently and the numbers speak for themselves. He’s definitely up there in the discussion.”
Salah’s contract discussions are ongoing as Liverpool fans anxiously await a decision on his future. The winger has made it known that he wants an improved wage of up to £500,000 per week, which would double the likes of Van Dijk and Sadio Mane’s current deals.
Whether Liverpool budge and decide that he’s too valuable to risk losing remains to be seen, but what is for sure is that if Salah continues to deliver like he has been, there will be multiple European giants lurking to acquire his signature.
When he collected his second Footballer of the Year award, in May 2022 four years after his first, he had nothing on his mind except helping Liverpool to win an unprecedented quadruple. Having won the Carabao Cup and FA Cup, Liverpool were looking to add the Premier League title and get revenge on Real Madrid for that painful defeat in 2018.
You can see his interview, with Gerry Cox of Hayters, here:
