🏆 Ballon d’OneFootball: Royalty takes 7th place ... | OneFootball

Welcome to the fourth annual edition of the Ballon d’OneFootball as we begin our countdown of the top 25 players in the world right now. Here’s an explainer how we decided on a top 25.

Here’s the list so far.

Today we have …

7th: Mohamed Salah, Liverpool and Egypt

(Last year: 1st)

Perhaps, sometimes, it says more about a player’s ability when they can flourish in a struggling side.

Liverpool’s usual high standards dipped in 2022/23, with the club finishing outside the top four in the Premier League and limbering to early exits in the Champions League and FA Cup.

Jürgen Klopp’s side looked a shadow of their former high-tempo, all-action best, but there was still one man who maintained his excellence while those around him appeared to flounder.

Mohamed Salah ended the season with 28 goals in all competitions, his third-best goalscoring return since arriving at Anfield in 2017.

Only Erling Haaland scored more in the Champions League than the Egyptian, who has surpassed the 20-goal mark in every season he has worn the red shirt.

He even scored the fastest hat-trick in the competition this season, coming off the bench to score three in six minutes and 12 seconds in the 7-1 win over Rangers in October.

Not bad for a winger.

Salah also appears to be getting better from a creative aspect with his 15 assists last season only bettered in one other campaign, the previous season.

An underrated aspect to Salah’s quality is that he is always available. He featured in every one of Liverpool’s 46 Premier League and Champions League games last season, clocking up 3,922 minutes, the most in the entire squad.

For a club that has frequently dealt with injury crises over the past few seasons, Salah’s ability to stay fit and always be available is remarkable.

The Egptian’s game changed slightly in 22/23, instead of operating as one of the forwards in a narrow frontline, he now positions himself to pick up the ball on the wide-right-hand side of the pitch.

But that didn’t hinder his output, with only three Premier League players ahead of him when it came to open-play passes that led to a shot (106), and him ranking in the top  three for goal-creating actions and top ten in the league for shot-creating actions.

His dribbling ability has improved with the position alteration as well, with Salah placing in the top five for progressive carries (120) while he obtained the most touches in an opposition penalty area in the whole league with 301.

The break-neck speed that the Egyptian displayed earlier on in his Liverpool career might not be as lightning-quick as it once was but Salah is still deadly for the opposition.

There were reports earlier in the transfer window about PSG plotting a move for the 31-year-old as a potential Kylian Mbappé replacement.

But there isn’t likely to be a fee which would make Liverpool want to sit at the negotiating table for someone who is indispensable and irreplaceable in the market.

Liverpool’s Egyptian King gives the top ten some royal recognition.

Click here for every player named so far and their profiles.