Scholes: Salah must stay at Liverpool if he wants to win the Ballon d’Or
2 min read
Mohamed Salah must stay at Liverpool or continue his professional career to stand a chance of winning the Ballon d’Or, according to former England and Manchester United star Paul Scholes.
Thanks to his inspiring displays for club and country, the Egypt captain was among the 30-man 2021 Ballon d’Or longlist to have been released by France Football alongside Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski.
A selection of international journalists, national team coaches and captains will be polled to determine the winner, with each voter being asked to pick out their top five.
Although the African star is not among the favourites to claim the individual accolade for this year, the ex-Red Devils star opened up on what he needs to do to make that ambition a reality.
“If [Salah] wants to be the best player on the planet, he has to stay at Liverpool, he has to stay in England,” Scholes said during the Overlap Live Fan Debate powered by Sky Sports.
“The best players are here, it’s the best league in the world now. It’s got the three best coaches in the world, with the best teams.
“So, if he wants to be the best player on the planet, he has to stay here and Liverpool will have to pay him.”
Although Salah is already tied down through to the summer of 2023, albeit, those on Merseyside are eager to put an extension in place and avoid any unwelcome transfer talk.
He was snapped up by Liverpool in 2017, with manager Jurgen Klopp bringing him back to English football after initially playing for Chelsea.
In his debut season at Anfield, he became a talismanic presence with 44 goals that delivered the PFA Player of the Year award.
Subsequently, the 29-year-old helped the Reds to Champions League and Premier League title glory.
Salah is showing no sign of slowing down, with seven goals scored in eight English top-flight matches in the 2021-22 campaign so far. Against Brentford, he found the net to become the fastest Liverpool player ever to reach 100 league goals
His century arrived in just 151 games, quicker than former record-holder Roger Hunt (100 in 152 appearances) and Ian Rush (100 in 168 outings).
