Jamie Carragher thinks that the title of the best player in the world of football is a straight fight between two players; Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah and Kylian Mbappe of PSG.
The pundit made the comments whilst speaking to Sky Sports. He claims that the old Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo debate has been replaced by one involving Liverpool’s star man.
“I think the toss-up for me would be between Mohamed Salah and Kylian Mbappe,” said Carragher.
“They would be the two who would split people now in the way Messi and Ronaldo have split people for so many years.”
It may be claimed that Carragher was using bias towards the club he represented over 700 times. Nevertheless, the former Liverpool centre-back suggests that Salah is currently winning the battle.
“But I think the season Salah is having, and the numbers he’s got compared to anyone else in the Premier League, which is the best league in the world right now, just shows how far ahead of everybody else in the Premier League he is.”
Salah shows his class
This season has seen Salah enter a world of his own in the Premier League. His 19 goals are seven more than the nearest challengers – Liverpool colleagues Sadio Mane and Diogo Jota.
According to Virgil Van Dijk, he could have had even more.
The 29-year-old also has 10 assists to his name. In terms of goal contributions, he tops the list on 29. No other player has more than 16. Remarkable.
In the Champions League this season, Salah is currently the third top goalscorer with eight goals in eight games. However, he is yet to register an assist for The Reds in the competition this season.
Mbappe makes his claim
Mbappe’s number are fairly similar to Salah’s. He has 14 Ligue 1 goals coupled with 10 assists. That puts him top of the goal contribution charts in France.
Impressively, he has managed to keep pace with teammate Lionel Messi in terms of assists.
The legendary Messi hasn’t yet taken off in front of goal for PSG. But he has still been particularly creative. Mbappe isn’t usually considered an especially creative talent but he has been this season. 10 assists so far is already a career best in Ligue 1.
In Champions League terms, Mbappe is slightly edging Salah so far this season. Five goals and four assists give him a razor-thin lead of one in terms of goal involvement.
If PSG can sneak past Real Madrid this evening, there’s still a chance that these two titans could still clash in the Champions League this season.
Mbappe is an unbelievable talent. But Mo gets our vote here.
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