“Mo Salah is the truth”: Manchester United Legend sings record-breaking forward’s praises | OneFootball

Pundit and former Manchester United star Rio Ferdinand was gushing in his praise of Liverpool’s top scorer Mohamed Salah on his podcast Vibe with Five.

“I think Salah’s a joke. I think he’s a ridiculous player. He’s done this consistently for years now. This guy needs a bit more respect put on his name. Forget my ties to Man United or whatever, Mo Salah is the truth.”

Ferdinand’s statements — as shown on Anfield Watch's Twitter account —  reveal the conversation he had with former Liverpool forward Michael Owen, with the two comparing Mohamed Salah’s form with Luis Suarez’s deadly 2013/14 season.

“I had this argument with Michael Owen, He said when he [Suarez] was on fire, he had a better season than Mo Salah is having this season - I disagreed.”

Ferdinand – who works for BT Sport as a pundit, didn’t stop there, referring to the high level of the Egyptian striker’s contributions.

“The Chelsea goal the other day, a little shimmy, the defender was rocked. Bang, goal. You know how many players he does that against. Kalidou Koulibaly [for Napoli] at Anfield, he’s meant to be a £70m-£80m player. Get off, bang, goal.”

Salah will be looking to get more goals against Leeds United on Wednesday night, the Yorkshire side have struggled of late with one win in five, fresh from their defeat against Manchester United at Elland Road.

Marcelo Bielsa’s side sit fifteenth in the league and have the second-worst goal difference in the division. Bielsa highlighted in his pre-match press-conference how he wanted the side to improve defensively.

“The defensive system needed to improve. The consistency that the players in the midfield offer allows us to strengthen the defensive system. The characteristics of the players that play in the midfield made that zone more defensive or offensive.”

Liverpool will have to do the job without striker Roberto Firmino who is out after a muscle injury with Jurgen Klopp confirming that “he is out for a while.”

It is unknown whether he will be available for selection against Chelsea on Sunday.

Forward Diogo Jota is injured as well and is likely to miss the Leeds game, however Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp wasn’t too dismissive of both players possibly playing a part in Sunday’s huge League Cup final against Chelsea.

Klopp told Liverpoolfc.com that “Yes, it’s too early” when assessing their chances against Chelsea.

Before adding “I don’t even know if it will be a late decision or not; how I said, it’s too early. I saw them both today, they both look great – but those two always look great.”

Anfield Watch Verdict

Liverpool’s Egyptian goal machine has been in fine form this season with Mohamed Salah top scorer in the Premier League this year with 17 goals in 23 appearances.

The forward is fresh from his exertions at the African Cup of Nations where Egypt finished runners-up, losing to teammate Sadio Mane’s Senegal on penalties.

Salah has 25 goals in all competitions this season and nine assists, which is one reason why Ferdinand argued the 29-year-old is ahead of Atlético Madrid striker Suarez in his opinion.

If Mohamed Salah continues his current form and Liverpool end the season with silverware then there is no reason why the talented striker can't start eyeing up next year's Ballon d'Or.