National team manager suggests £34m Liverpool player can be his country’s Cristiano Ronaldo

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Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah is on a par with names like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Salah has been one of the best players on the planet ever since arriving at Liverpool for £34m in 2017. His trophies both individually and with the Reds speak for themselves.

But another thing that marks the 31-year-old out is his importance to his national team, to Egypt. According to Egyptian national team manager Rui Vitoria in a recent interview with beIN SPORTS, Mo’s impact on his countrymen is ‘enormous.’

“Salah is very important in our national team,” says the coach via Sport Witness. “And these players, who are world figures, are in fact very important in the various teams they represent. We remember a Messi, we remember a Cristiano Ronaldo, we remember a Salah, maybe Neymar, Mbappe. The big teams have a player like this. And our Salah brings great positivity to the whole group.

“You feel this positive energy that is transmitted. You can feel the pride that a team also has in having a player like this.

“And the impact these players have on a daily basis is enormous. And sometimes they don’t even have that idea. But they raise the level of demand. And when I say demand, I mean demand from everyone. All coaches, colleagues, structures that have to be at a high level to also monitor the performance of those players. And this is a very big challenge even for Egypt. To have these types of players, we all have to raise our level of ability. But they are decisive.

“Salah is a player I love on the pitch and I love off the pitch. Because he represents what I understand he should be as a player. Extreme humility, friendliness, very positive energy. A tremendous focus on his profession. Always concerned about colleagues and the team. And that makes me very satisfied. I’m glad we have him and he’s a decisive player.”

Salah earns Ronaldo comparison

You can see where Vitoria is coming from here. There are indeed levels to this game.

Plenty of teams have top players. But there are top players – those who are operating on an elite level – and then there are top, top players, stars who transcend the sport.

Ronaldo and Messi are the best examples of this. Ronaldo, for example, is the most followed person on Instagram on the planet, for what that’s worth.

Meanwhile as arguably the greatest player of all time, Messi is one of the most recognisable sports people around. Neymar is another who’s appeal is incredibly widespread, while Kylian Mbappe is well on his way to succeeding that trio for the new generation.

In terms of on-pitch success, Salah perhaps doesn’t match that star-studded quartet. And you could argue that having never played for a Real Madrid or Barcelona, his potential in terms of marketability has never hit its true peak.

Nevertheless, as the biggest and best Arab sports star on the planet, Salah’s appeal is enormous in its own right. The Liverpool man is truly a global icon.

In terms of what that means for the teams he plays in, it certainly matters more to Egypt than to Liverpool. For the Reds he may be the standout man, but there are plenty of others picking up the slack. For Egypt, he has to put the team on his back every time he plays. Knowing Mo though, he won’t mind that. If Ronaldo can do it, then so can he.