Mohamed Salah doesn’t get enough recognition in the world of football – and Liverpool have the chance to show how much he is valued on Merseyside.
What do Salomon Rondon, Ademola Lookman and Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang have in common? I’ll give you the answer: all three were nominated for the FIFA Best Male Striker award ahead of Mohamed Salah.
Salah is objectively significantly better than these three players and this denial has nothing to do with his contributions on the pitch. It’s true that the nominees were largely chosen on the basis of their performances last season, but even so, Salah scored 25 times during the 2023-24 season and was more worthy of inclusion than most of the names on the list.
While there’s no doubt that Liverpool fans truly appreciate Salah’s greatness, it’s fair to say that the Egyptian doesn’t get the credit he deserves for the incredible numbers he has put up since arriving at Anfield. There are regular Salah vs Salah debates. Eden Hazard is featured on social media (Hazard himself picked Salah), while this week a video of football fans discussing the Premier League’s all-time right-back was shared by The Overlap – and one supporter tried to argue David Beckham over Salah.
As great as Beckham is, he can’t compare to Salah. In a similar number of Premier League appearances, the Liverpool forward has scored 105 more goals than Beckham and registered just eight fewer assists.
There’s no doubt that Salah is underrated by the wider football world, and Liverpool have the chance to show how much he’s worth at Anfield with the kind of contract he demands. Liverpool don’t usually give long-term contracts to players over 30, but Salah is only 32 and a seasoned professional, which could add years to the end of his career.
Robert Lewandowski is still scoring goals for FC Barcelona at 36, while Lionel Messi won the World Cup at 35 and Karim Benzema won the Ballon d’Or at 34. Age is just a number.
It’s understandable that Liverpool can’t meet the contractual demands of all their players, and there’s the small matter of trying to keep Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold for the Reds.
But keeping Salah should surely be the priority given the explosive way he’s started the season. He is the most irreplaceable of the trio – it’s time Liverpool gave him what he wants.
