Fabio Cannavaro doesn't hand out praise lightly. So when the 2006 Ballon d'Or winner and one of the finest defenders the game has seen spoke so candidly about Mohamed Salah, the football world took notice.
The Trabzonspor star keeps drawing acclaim from the biggest names in the sport, and Cannavaro is the latest to join the queue. He appeared as a guest on Egypt's "On Sport" channel for a rare interview.
On the programme, the great Italian defender faced a blunt question: "If you had played in the same era as Salah, would he have got the better of you?".
His answer landed with real humility. "Salah is a great talent. I'm fortunate that I didn't play in the same era as him. And yes, regarding your question, he would have got past me with his dribbling too".
The World Cup winner went further. He cast his mind back to following the Egyptian's career from his earliest days on Italian pitches, insisting he was among the first to rate him.
"I admired him when I watched him play with Fiorentina and Roma in Serie A, and he developed himself more and more under the leadership of Jürgen Klopp at Liverpool," Cannavaro said.
His verdict on Salah's career was glowing. "He is one of the best attackers of the modern era. He has become a multi-talented and complete footballer. He is one of the best attacking players of recent times".
Cannavaro signed off with a tribute to the Egyptian Pharaoh. "It is a pleasure for me to witness his great development and to follow him on the pitch".