Alan Shearer has insisted that Mo Salah is the globe’s leading talent at the current point in time.
It’s an opinion that’s fundamentally difficult to dispute in light of the Egyptian’s current form, with 20 goals having been amassed in 21 games (across all competitions) so far in the 2021/22 campaign.
“Mohamed Salah is the best in the world right now,” the former England international wrote for The Athletic. “The best goalscorer and the best player, full stop.”
When discussing the efforts of the Egypt international this season, the ex-Newcastle hitman couldn’t help but express bafflement at the forward’s ranking in the Ballon d’Or.
“Week-in week-out, year-in year-out, Salah performs magic,” Shearer added.
“How he came seventh in the latest Ballon d’Or voting is anybody’s guess.
“There’s an obsession with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, which is understandable given how dominant they’ve been over the modern era, but if you gave me a choice of any player for my team it would be Salah.”
Even if we ignore the current season and focus exclusively on the prior term, it still doesn’t make a great deal of sense how the 29-year-old was virtually dismissed by voters for the Ballon d’Or.
The former Chelsea attacker was absolutely integral to our efforts of achieving top four football in a campaign ruined by the spectre of injuries.
Salah may not have matched Leo Messi’s international achievements but if we’re looking at an award that should be judging individual performance over team accolades, then there’s arguably only one clear winner over the calendar year.