Egyptian attacker Mohamed Salah is staying coy on his Ballon d’Or chances, as he revealed his primary goals he wants to achieve in the ongoing season.
Salah continued his impressive performance in midweek as Liverpool stunned Newcastle United 2-0 to go 13 clear on the league log.
The former Chelsea and AS Roma star has already scored 25 times – six more than any other player in the top-flight – and laid on 16 more goals for his team-mates in an extraordinary domestic campaign, which looks set to be a record-breaker for the forward.
“Let’s win the Premier League and the Champions League!” Salah told TNT Sports. “Because the Ballon d’Or, everybody knows sometimes [other] stuff involved there.”
Asked outright if winning those two trophies will see him collect the Golden Ball later this year, he simply replied: “Hopefully.”
Reflecting on the key ingredients to his high level of personal performance so far this campaign, Salah has admitted a change of mindset has helped him become a less selfish player.
“I feel very good,” he said. “I feel like I’m in a good shape, very good shape, and trying to not just improve but to also make the players around me improve as well.
“That’s part of growing as well. You want everybody to play good because you’re not going to win the league alone, so you want other players to also perform.
“That’s what I’m trying to do last few months, probably from the beginning of the season, to study their games and understand what the players like. In the past, when I was younger, I just focused on myself more on the pitch.
“So far, I think this is my best season because I make the players around me better as well. That’s what I feel. I know their games.
“All the numbers around all the players are going to be higher than other seasons. Plus my assists are higher which means I’m really helping them a lot.”
Salah has helped Liverpool to race through to the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League by finishing top of the league phase, with a mouthwatering tie against Paris Saint-Germain on the horizon.
