Stephen Warnock says only Lionel Messi was better than 24-year-old Liverpool star at one point last year

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Mohamed Salah was the only Liverpool player anywhere near Lionel Messi as he scooped his eighth Ballon d’Or last month.

Salah finished in eleventh place in the yearly rankings, comfortably his lowest position since arriving at Anfield in 2017.

According to former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock though, there should have potentially been another Reds player on the list. Speaking to NBC Sports this week, Warnock claimed that Alexis Mac Allister’s performance at last year’s World Cup was second only to the great Messi.

“When you look at him at Brighton, and especially Argentina in the World Cup, I thought he was the second best player in that tournament behind Messi, I really do,” said the pundit.

“Messi was brilliant, but Mac Allister was phenomenal in that forward advanced position. Retaining balls, little threaded through passes, I think if you want to get the best out of him, you’ve almost got to play him in that position.

“I don’t think he’s a number 6. I don’t think he senses danger enough to play in that position. When I look at Rodri, he senses it, he knows when people move into certain positions. I don’t think he’s athletically good enough to do it. He’s a brilliant footballer, but play to his strengths.”

Klopp urged to rethink Mac Allister role

Warnock’s comments really echo what Liverpool supporters – and Jamie Carragher – have been saying all season long: We’re not seeing the best of Mac Allister at the base of the midfield.

Having been brought into the club and taken the No.10 shirt, the World Cup winner could reasonably have been expecting to play a similar role for his new club as he did for his country.

But with Liverpool losing Fabinho and failing to adequately replace him, Mac Allister has been shunted back.

By and large, the 24-year-old has actually done okay. In fact, it seems as though he has now been deployed in a deeper role by Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni, too.

So, perhaps Mac Allister future really does lie in a holding role. He clearly has some kind of nose for it.

Nevertheless, it’s hard to shake the feeling that we’re being short-changed with Macca. Not through any fault of his own it must be said. He’s doing well enough and has been a constant starter during Liverpool’s excellent start to the campaign. He deserves credit for that.

But having been so good in Qatar last winter, it would be nice if we could see a bit of that for the Reds some time soon.

For that to happen, you feel that Liverpool may need to bring in a specialist defensive midfielder. With just six weeks before the January window opens, we may be nearing that promised land.