‘Cristiano was the first’: Gary Neville sees ‘unusual’ similarity with Mohamed Salah

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Gary Neville sees an ‘unusual’ similarity between Cristiano Ronaldo and Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah. The Egyptian backs things up, however.

Mohamed Salah is currently playing the best football of his career. Not only is he scoring for fun – nine games in a row – but he’s creating chances, winning tackles, and covering his full-back.

Salah is the complete forward right now and we can’t remember seeing anything like it. Perhaps Luis Suarez’s late 2013 form comes closest- regardless, what we’re seeing from the Egyptian is incredible.

The Liverpool star isn’t particularly surprising himself, though. He told Sky Sports this week that becoming the world’s best player has long been his mentality.

According to Gary Neville, that’s an admission he’s rarely heard.

Neville on Salah

“Cristiano was the first person I’d ever heard say that he wanted to become the best player in the world,” Neville told Sky Sports. “It was quite unusual to hear it as everyone talks about the team and the collective.

“To hear Mohamed Salah say it in his interview is refreshing but I think you can say these things when you’re delivering, and these two [Salah and Ronaldo] have delivered now consistently.

“Ronaldo for 10-15 years and Mo Salah for five or six years and beyond. They’re absolutely deadly. They’re ruthless and they’re clinical. Their standards have always been exceptional and their output has always been good.”

As Neville points out, it’s important we don’t talk as if Salah is doing anything too miraculous. He’s been sensational for a long time now.

It’s been a long, long time since a forward player performed this well and delivered the biggest trophies while doing it. You’d have to go all the way back to Ian Rush, in fact.

Rush, though, was never in the running to be the world’s best player and Salah might be exactly that right now. We certainly wouldn’t swap him for anyone else.

So not only does Salah believe he’s the best around but he’s backing it up. Hopefully, he makes it ten games in a row on Sunday right in front of Cristiano Ronaldo.