Mohamed Salah ‘has long way to go’ to match Ronaldo and Messi, says Egypt teammate Ahmed Elmohamady

After such a successful debut season which includes winning the Writers’ Players of the Year, Salah is being touted to end Ronaldo and Messi’s 10-year dominance of the Ballon d’Or

(Reuters)

Mohamed Salah should not be put in the same bracket as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi and has a “long way to go” before being considered a serious Ballon d’Or contender, according to his international teammate Ahmed Elmohamady.

Salah is the Premier League’s leading goalscorer and is hoping to lead Liverpool into the Champions League final, as Jurgen Klopp’s side approach Wednesday’s second leg against Roma with a 5-2 advantage.

After such a successful debut season for Liverpool, which includes winning the PFA Player of the Year award and Writers’ Players of the Year award, Salah is being touted to end Ronaldo and Messi’s 10-year dominance of the Ballon d’Or, voted for by managers, players and journalists to decide the world player of the year, but his Egyptian teammate is less sure of the comparison.

“It’s only one season…but for the level of Ronaldo and Messi, he has to do it for seven or eight years. He still has a long way to go,” said Aston Villa and Egypt defender Elmohamady.

Egypt are taking part in their first World Cup since 1990 and Elmohamady believes Salah will have a “big part” in any success, but claims he has the beating of the forward who has incited fear in opposition defenders all season.

“In training, I don’t worry about him,” said the defender, who joked he has Salah ”in his pocket”. “Yeah, yeah, easy in training. But in a game, he turns into a different player. You can see him now, he’s one of the best players in the world. I am happy for him. Hopefully he can continue this form into the World Cup.”

In Salah’s first Premier League season he failed to impress in his 19 appearances for Chelsea between 2013-2015, and Elmohamady revealed he regularly speaks about his decision to leave Stamford Bridge.

“I spoke to him too many times about this. He took the chance to go away from the Premier League to prove everyone wrong. And he did it to be honest, at Fiorentina and Roma. He came back to the Premier League and you see what he can do now.”

Mohamed Salah has been sensational for Liverpool (Getty)

Aston Villa, under the guidance of Steve Bruce, missed out on automatic promotion and will rely on the play-offs to seal a return to the top tier following relegation in 2015-16, meaning Elmohamady will not get a break before the World Cup in Russia.

“It’s going to help me to stay fit. I can take days off after the World Cup,” said the 30 year old who won promotion with Bruce and Hull via the play-off final in 2015-16. “I wanted automatic and to be off before the World Cup! But hopefully we will make the final now and get his club back to the Premier League, it’s going to be exciting.

“The gaffer is full of experience, he has been around the league a long time. He can give players advice through this time. When you get promoted, it’s a big feeling at Wembley.”