THERE’S STOPPING HIM

Salah’s goal against City confirmed him as the heir to Messi & Ronaldo... but with his Kop contract running down, the world’s richest clubs may come calling

AS Jurgen Klopp said on Sunday, when Anfield has been touched by greatness, it never forgets.

Mo Salah’s performance against Manchester City was one of those times. It was an individual display which will be spoken of in “56 years’ time”, as Klopp suggested in reference to the late Roger Hunt’s FA Cup final winner in 1965.

Right now, Salah is the best in the world. No doubt. His numbers are off the charts. He has scored in every game he’s played this season bar one, and in his last seven straight.

Since the beginning of 2020/21, he’s scored more goals than Lionel Messi, and produced more goal involvements than Cristiano Ronaldo. His shot conversion rate is considerably better than both, and in every other metric to denote a truly great striker, he matches them.

He is positioning himself to assume the crown of the king

of goalscorers from the two who have ruled for the past decade or more.

“His record from the start of the season has been outstanding,” Anfield legend Jamie Carragher said. “I don’t think there’s anyone playing better in the world at the moment. Right now, he’s probably as sharp and as good as I’ve ever seen him.”

But when you are that good, when you can win or save games with a couple of moments of genius, as Messi does, as Ronaldo does, and as Salah now does, you are not just coveted, but drooled over.

With the two GOATS reaching the end of their reign, the richest clubs in the world are looking for their

successor, and Salah very much fits the bill.

The fact he will have just 18 months left on his contract at Christmas spells danger. It is contract territory that causes real problems, as Carragher points out. “Liverpool can’t

afford to let the contract situation drag on, because there is a real threat they could lose him in the next two years,” he said. “They don’t have City’s finances when you think of wages, but it is imperative that, at his peak,

he’s still scoring goals in the red shirt of Liverpool.”

Salah is 29 and contracted for another 20 months, when he will be 31. The club don’t want to risk giving huge money – £300,000 a week-plus – to someone entering the ‘veteran’ stage.

But the Egypt star is at his peak right now, and is so dedicated and professional he can go on for many years yet.

“He really looks after himself – you can see that when he takes his top off after he scores a goal,” Carragher added. “He’s got a lot left in his thirties.”

That is Liverpool’s dilemma, and they need to sort out a new contract by the New Year when it will be open season for those clubs with the big bucks.