Salah is having arguably the best season of his career on Merseyside, with 32 goals and 22 appearances so far this season. The Egyptian is not only the Premier League’s goalscorer with 27 but is also the best playmaker with 17 assists, 7 more than Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka.
Many have argued that he should be handed the Ballon d’Or this season including Di Canio who spoke to FootItalia about how he believes the 32 year old will lift the award as long as long as Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior stays quiet in the final stages of the Champions League.
“From my point of view, if we stop the season now, of course there is no doubt for me, Salah would win the Ballon d’Or. But if Vinicius Junior now scores a goal in the Champions League semi final or final then plays in the final. Then win it, even if he plays a bad game in the final. Just to repay the fans after they didn’t give him it in the past and maybe they're gonna choose him, but to be honest, at this moment, Salah is the one.”
Liverpool's Champions League hopes had gone up in smoke after being knocked out by Paris Saint-Germain and are out of both domestic cups thanks to Plymouth Argyle and Newcastle United in the EFL Cup final. The Ballon d’Or is often influenced by a players collection of trophies at the end of the season and Salah must win the league title if he wants a chance at winning the award which no Liverpool player has lifted since Michael Owen in 2001.