Cristiano Ronaldo has had 15 seasons like Mohamed Salah, says Jurgen Klopp
Written by News on 20/05/2018
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has played down comparisons between Mohamed Salah and Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo.
Both players will go head to head when Liverpool take on Real Madrid in the Champions League final on May 26 in Kiev.
Ronaldo has scored 42 club goals in all competitions this season, while Salah has scored 44 goals in his debut season at Anfield.
The two players are likely to be front-runners in the race to win the Ballon d’Or later this year but Liverpool boss Klopp does not believe there is any personal rivalry between the two.
He told Liverpool’s website: “They all have qualities. It’s not about having the better individual, usually it’s about playing the better football. For that to happen, you need all the others as well.”
Klopp also insisted Salah has some way to go before he can consider himself to be at the standard of Ronaldo and Barcelona forward Lionel Messi, who have both consistently scored over 40 goals a season for over a decade.
He added: “Mo played a fantastic season but Cristiano has played 15 seasons like this. He has scored something like 47,000 goals – crazy numbers.
“Why should we compare? At the time of Pele nobody compared Pele to other players and asked, ‘Is he as good as him?’
“Now we have Messi and Ronaldo. They have dominated football for a few years and there are so many other good players.
“Messi and Ronaldo are in the final moment very often in the right position to score a goal and that’s the most difficult thing to do in the world. That’s why they are where they are.
“The Ballon d’Or is always between them. It’s well deserved. When they stop playing football we will miss them, 100 per cent.”
(c) Sky News 2018: Cristiano Ronaldo has had 15 seasons like Mohamed Salah, says Jurgen Klopp
