Cristiano Ronaldo believes 'revelation' Mohamed Salah is a Ballon d'Or contender

Sport360 staff 20:05 12/06/2018
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Mail
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • WhatsApp
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Ronaldo consoling Salah at the Champions League final.

    Cristiano Ronaldo says “revelation” Mohamed Salah is primed to break the stranglehold he and Lionel Messi have had on the Ballon d’Or award after a stunning season.

    Salah went off injured in the Champions League final, which Ronaldo and Real Madrid went on to win 3-1 in a clash that was billed as a showdown between him and Liverpool’s Salah for football’s biggest individual award.

    Ronaldo, now tasked with leading Euro 2016 winners Portugal at the World Cup, says he hopes the injury doesn’t ruin Salah’s chances of winning the award.

    “Salah has been one of the revelations of the year,” Ronaldo told reporters in Russia.

    “I hope his injury in the final in Kiev doesn’t keep him out.

    “Many people talk about the battle for the Ballon d’Or between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi but there are other players who have a chance to enter the race. Salah is certainly one of them.”

    The two may end up facing each other in Russia if Salah, who is Egypt’s talisman much as Ronaldo is for Portugal, makes an adequate recovery from his injury. Portugal first have a group that includes Spain to navigate, along with Morocco and Iran, with the two European powerhouses set to clash on Friday.

    “A defeat on the first day puts you in a bad way for the rest of the tournament so it’s important to start well,” Ronaldo said of the Group B opener on June 15.

    “But I believe both Spain and Portugal will reach the next round.

    “To win the World Cup would be a dream for Portugal but to do it we have to play the same way we did in Euro 2016, as a team and all together.”

    Recommended