Lionel Messi is the greatest football player of all time. There’s a sense that this year might have been his final Ballon d’Or, but somebody else would need to come along and win it eight times before they could be in the frame for such a title.
Having such a player within this generation has undoubtedly been unfortunate for a chasing pack of world-class performers. Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk once missed out on the Ballon d’Or to Messi by just seven votes, with the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Luis Suárez and Robert Lewandowski among the others never to claim the top prize across an era where Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have dominated. Strangely, Mohamed Salah has never managed to finish higher than fifth, but there is undoubtedly a feeling at Liverpool that he is another deserving potential winner in Jürgen Klopp’s ranks. Five years younger than Messi, he almost straddles two footballing generations, and will still harbor hope that his autumn years bring him the sport’s top individual honor.
But there’s at least one area where Salah already has the edge on Messi. A recent revelation from a former Barcelona teammate underscores the difference.
Barcelona-era Messi is the greatest level a footballer has ever reached, so it would be madness to question any of his methods during that time. But the training ‘rule’ revealed by current Nice defender Jean-Clair Todibo is certainly a little surprising. “In Barcelona, they didn’t allow us to touch Messi in training. It sounds crazy, but it’s true. We had to be careful,” he told the Ligue 1 Show (via Mundo Deportivo).
“It’s normal, he’s the best, you don’t want to hurt him. It was logical.”
In one sense, this is merely further testament to Messi’s brilliance. Not only did he warrant such special treatment, he was also able to dance through La Liga defenses every single weekend, despite apparently having spent the week without having to worry about facing any tackles. Plenty of opponents resorted to physicality to try and stop Messi. But even though he was shielded from it in training by Barcelona’s rule, he was able to stand up and resist it in games, stamping his influence against even the most thuggish of challengers.
But Klopp has never had to worry about wrapping Salah in cotton wool in this fashion. Like all other mere mortals, the Egyptian cannot boast the same dizzying heights as Messi, but few players have ever been as good as the Liverpool star while also boasting such unerring consistency and availability.
Messi has not had an especially noteworthy number of injuries over a long career, but has still missed a total of 162 games through various setbacks (Transfermarkt). In a career spanning well over a decade himself, Salah has missed just 26. In terms of his time at Liverpool, concussion and coronavirus have accounted for two of just three periods of absence. Klopp certainly does not underestimate this quality of his talisman. By fielding him in the Europa League, the coach appears to have accepted that Salah simply does not need the same management as other players, and he has spoken with wonder about the condition of the 31-year-old.
“He’s not like other 31-year-olds,” Klopp eulogized back in October, via Sky Sports. “I think if you scan him, the majority of the bones are probably 19 or 20.”
One thing’s for sure: Klopp won’t be implementing Barcelona’s rule any time soon. And while Messi may never be de-throned as the best to ever do it, Liverpool will hope that Salah has at least one Ballon d’Or in him before he hangs up his boots.
A former teammate of Lionel Messi has revealed a training ‘rule’. Liverpool won’t be implementing it for Mohamed Salah.
