Mohamed Salah‘s performance for Liverpool in their 5-2 Champions League semi-final first-leg win over Roma on Tuesday night saw the Egyptian likened to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Here we compare the trio.
Mohamed Salah
Age: 25
Club: Liverpool
International team: Egypt
Individual honours: PFA Player of the Year (2017-18), African footballer of the Year (2017).
Team honours: African Nations Cup runner-up (2017, with Egypt).
Goals in 2017-18: 43 (including 31 in the Premier League and 10 in the Champions League)
A tormentor of Chelsea for Basel, Salah was given scant opportunity when he joined the Blues before thriving at Fiorentina and Roma and proving his worth at Anfield.
Lionel Messi
Age: 30
Club: Barcelona
International team: Argentina
Individual honours: FIFA Ballon d’Or (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015), European Golden Shoe (2010, 2012, 2013, 2017)
Team honours: La Liga (eight), Copa del Rey (six), Champions League (four), Club World Cup (three).
Goals in 2017-18: 42 (including 29 in La Liga)
The magician has terrorised defences for years with his nimble footwork and goalscoring instinct. Messi is leading Barcelona towards another LaLiga title and played a key role in ousting Chelsea from the Champions League.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Age: 33
Club: Real Madrid
International team: Portugal
Individual honours: FIFA Ballon d’Or (2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017), European Golden Shoe (2008, 2011, 2014, 2016)
Team honours: Premier League (three), La Liga (two), Copa del Rey (two), Champions League (four), Club World Cup (four), European Championship (2016, with Portugal).
Goals in 2017-18: 43 (including 24 in La Liga)
The former Sporting Lisbon and Manchester United winger turned prolific striker scored the most goals in the last two Champions League seasons, when Real won the competition. No-one has scored more goals in UEFA competitions.
