Impressive Mohamed Salah can win the 2018 Ballon d’Or if he leads Liverpool to Uefa Champions League triumph this season, according to club legend Mark Lawrenson.
The summer signing from AS Roma has scored 43 goals across all competitions in his debut campaign with Jurgen Klopp’s side.
Salah steered the Merseyside outift to a 5-2 win over Roma in the first leg of their semi-final fixture to put them a foot in their first Champions League final since 2007.
Lawrenson, a member of Liverpool squad that defeated the Giallorossi to clinch the European Cup title in 1984, is in awe of the Egyptian's exploits, and believes 'it will be very difficult not to give him the Ballon d'Or' if he delivers the much-coveted trophy for the Reds.
"I've not seen anything like it. I think about all those top players who have come from abroad and had a brilliant first season in the Premier League - the likes of Ruud van Nistelrooy and Fernando Torres. Salah has been better than all of them," Lawrenson told the ECHO.
"Liverpool knew they had signed a good player last summer but not in their wildest dreams would they have imagined he would contribute this much.
"[Ian] Rush was brilliant but if you think about where he scored a lot of his goals, he played down the middle and got a lot of chances. Salah plays on the right of a three and that makes what he's done all the more impressive.
"If Liverpool get to the final and Salah delivers like he did in the earlier rounds and gets his hands on the trophy then it will be very difficult not to give him the Ballon d'Or. At the moment it's difficult to see anyone usurping him."
Salah’s outstanding form in front of goal has made him the highest African goalscorer in a single Uefa Champions League season [10] and he is four goals away from equalling Ian Rush’ club record of 47 goals in a single season.
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