- Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah has been tipped to win the Ballon d’Or award this year
- The 25-year-old has been superb for Liverpool since he joined them last summer from AS Roma
- Harry Kewell claims the former Chelsea man has the same dribbling skills as Barcelona star man, Lionel Messi
Former Liverpool attacking midfielder Harry Kewell has backed Egypt striker, Mohamed Salah, to beat Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to win Ballon d’Or award this year.
The 25-year-old forward has been phenomenon for the Reds since he made the €42 million move to join the club last summer – scoring 36 goals in all competitions so far this season.
Salah scored four goals in his side’s 5-0 victory over Watford on Saturday, March 17, to record his first hatrick at Anfield, and increase his EPL goal tally to 28 games with less than nine matches to wrap up the 2017-18 league season.
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Meanwhile, the 39-year-old tactician believes the Egyptian forward stands a chance to win the award if he had some superb performances at the 2018 FIFA World Cup staging in Russia this summer.
“Salah has had a phenomenal season,” Kewell told talkSPORT.
“People are saying about Player of the Year, but I’d even go that next step.
“If he was to have a fantastic World Cup, gets a couple of goals and plays well, and then continues again next season, why not go for the Ballon d’Or?
“He’s got the goals, I don’t see why he couldn’t win it.”
The current Crawley Town coach claims the former Chelsea striker has an incredible move similar to how Messi takes on defenders whenever he plays for his club or national team.
He added: “He has this amazing dribbling ability, and defenders are scared of it,” Kewell added.
“It’s a part of the game that players believe they can do, but when you get someone who can actually dribble, obviously the best is Lionel Messi, who can run at defenders and be able to chop and change on a dime, and Salah can do this, you just can’t stop it.
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“That’s the key with Salah – he drives at people, he’s chopping, turning, dribbling and people just don’t know how to deal with him.”
Kewell joined Liverpool from Leeds United in 2003, and scored 12 goals in 96 appearances in his five-season reign at the club, before moving to turkey to feature Galatasaray in 2011.
He was part of the Reds team that won the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Super League titles in 2005, including some other domestic cups in England.
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Source: Naija.ng