Carlo Ancelotti responds to Mohamed Salah’s ‘best in world’ comments ahead of Liverpool v Real Madrid
Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti has backed Mohamed Salah’s assessment that he is the best player in his position.
The mercurial Liverpool forward is enjoying another productive season at Anfield with Jurgen Klopp’s men chasing an unprecedented quadruple.
After winning both domestic cups — beating Chelsea in the EFL and FA Cup finals on penalties — the Reds are now seeking to regain the Premier League title as well as winning a seventh European Cup at Real’s experience in Paris at the end of this month.
Salah, who’s currently the Premier League’s top scorer on 22 goals and in the running for this year’s Ballon d’Or prize, was recently named the FWA Footballer of the Year and in the moments following his coronation made it clear where he stands in the game today.
“If you compare me with any player in my position, not only in my team but in the world, you will find that I am the best,” he told beIN Sports
“I always focus on my work and do my best and my numbers are the best proof of my words.
“I like to always create a new challenge for me, to work in a different way and to make a difference and that is my duty.”
His comments were perfectly fine according to Ancelotti, who is set to cross paths with Salah and company in Paris on May 28, especially as the Egyptian winger clarified that he wasn’t talking in absolutes.
“Salah has said that in his position he is the best in the world and I think he is right,” he told reporters. “I agree with him. In his position, yes, he is the best in the world.”
However this will not stop any discussion of who the best footballer in the world is right now. For the best part of more than a decade that conversion was exclusively between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo with both sharing 12 of the last 13 Ballon d’Or awards. Neither are frontrunners for the 2022 edition with Salah and Los Blancos marksman Karim Benzema heading the pack.
Benzema, who has been in sensational form this season having bagged 44 goals in 44 appearances, will go head-to-head against Salah at the Stade de France with the winner presumably favourite to succeed Messi.
