Jurgen Klopp believes Mohamed Salah would be a deserved winner of this year’s Ballon d’Or.
Salah has continued to excel during his fifth season with Liverpool, producing seven goals and four assists in their opening eight Premier League matches.
But the Egypt international is now being touted as a contender for this year’s award following impressive solo strikes against Manchester City and Watford.
Ahead of the Reds’ Champions League clash with Atletico Madrid, Klopp also backed Salah despite considering he may be hindered by a lack of recent silverware.
Asked whether the forward would merit the award, he said: “Yes [but] I have no idea how you win the Ballon d’Or, to be honest.
“If it’s about being in the Champions League final, scoring the most goals, stuff like this, then it could be slightly difficult maybe.
“But if it’s about performances over the last two years, then he has a chance from my point of view.
“I’m not too much in the competition, so [don’t] understand exactly how it works. Does he get now the recognition finally?
“Look, internally he’s always got it. Externally, I don’t know. You can answer that much better than I can.
“But that after the two goals he scored, now people think all of a sudden that he could be the best player in the world is a bit strange.
“He’s scored goals like this before and he’s performed for years on an incredibly high level.
“My concern is, first and foremost, that he will do it again and again and again and again – what he did so far.
“But whatever you want to write positively about it, do it, he deserves it.”