Former Liverpool striker Ian Rush has backed Mohamed Salah for this year’s Ballon d’Or, following his recent goalscoring heroics.
The Egypt star is in blistering form in this campaign with 15 goals and five assists in 12 matches across all competitions.
On Sunday, Salah scored a hat-trick in Liverpool’s 5-0 thrashing of Manchester United to eclipse Didier Drogba’s record and become the highest-scoring African player in Premier League history with 107 goals.
Rush was impressed by the 29-year-old’s performance at Old Trafford and he is looking forward to seeing Salah and Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski battle for the prestigious award.
"Mohamed Salah seems to be getting better by the week, and after his hat-trick at Old Trafford, I see him as a strong candidate for this year's Ballon d'Or," Rush told Gambling .
"For me, he's a stand-out candidate because he's tearing it up in the hardest league in the world.
"There is no one playing better football than him at this moment in time – he's playing fantastic stuff, so he's got to be in with a great shout for the Ballon d'Or.
"I know Lionel Messi is the bookies' favourite for the Ballon d'Or, but I personally think it should be between Salah and Robert Lewandowski, who was really unfortunate not to get it last year when Fifa cancelled the award due to Covid.
"For me, they are the two top forwards in world football right now, but Salah is doing it in a tougher league, and he's making it look easy, so he gets my vote.
"Messi and Ronaldo have dominated the award for the past decade, and rightly so, but Salah and Lewandowski are making a real go of it this year.
"I think we'll see a new name on the award. My preference would be Salah, of course."
The last time an African claimed the Ballon d'Or was in 1995, with Liberia President George Weah still the first and only player to win it from the continent.
Salah will be hoping to continue his scoring form when Liverpool take on Brighton & Hove Albion for their next Premier League fixture on Saturday.
