The former Manchester United defender has leapt to the defence of a Liverpool star in Mohamed Salah after he has been left empty handed in terms of individual awards
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Manchester United legend Gary Neville has bemoaned the “disrespect” shown to Liverpool talisman Mohamed Salah when it comes to handing out individual awards to the world’s best players.
Liverpool have not lifted a trophy since the summer of 2020 when Salah helped inspire the Reds to their first league title in three decades, but the Egyptian was in just as stunning form throughout the following year.
Salah was comfortably leading the way when it comes to goal contributions for Premier League players throughout 2021 with a jaw-dropping 35.
To put that figure into context, his nearest challenger was West Ham United’s Michail Antonio who was 13 behind on 22.
The Egypt International finished just one goal shy of eventual 2020/21 Golden Boot winner Harry Kane, but did share the goal-scoring burden with the likes of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Diogo Jota.
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Salah’s 2021 form saw him earn plenty of praise from fellow professionals, pundits and fans alike with some suggesting he was actually the best player in the world.
Yet the 29-year-old won nothing at the recent Ballon d’Or and FIFA best ceremonies, with Neville pointing out the injustice on Sky Sports.
“It does feel like he is disrespected globally when it comes to these types of awards,” the ex-United full-back claimed.
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As a result of his constant top-tier showings, the Liverpool forward was widely touted to take home a number of end-of-year individual awards.
The reality was in stark contrast to what many had expected, with the Reds goal-scorer ending the year with nothing to show for his efforts.
Salah surprisingly ended up finishing seventh in the Ballon d’Or rankings, behind the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, N’Golo Kante, Karim Benzema, Jorginho, Robert Lewandowski and eventual winner Lionel Messi.
While they are arguments that would support the idea that Messi was deserving of his seventh crown, Salah coming as low as seventh-placed was widely questioned.
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It was a similar story for the Anfield hero for who finished third in the 2021 Best FIFA Men’s Player award.
Individual accolades are always welcomed, but it is likely that Salah’s main focus remains on matters for both club and country.
The former Roma forward is currently away on international duty with Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.
After an early upset in their opening game that saw Salah’s side fall to a 1-0 defeat against Nigeria, Egypt recovered to secure their place in the knockout stages to set up a round of 16 clash with the Ivory Coast.
The Anfield faithful may be hoping for an Egypt defeat in a bid to get their star-man to return as soon as possible.
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