Liverpool and Real Madrid will compete in the Champions League final in less than 24 hours and Los Blancos’ captain Sergio Ramos has weighed in on the Mohamed Salah and Cristiano Ronaldo debate.
Both talismans have had remarkable seasons for their clubs and Salah’s debut season at Liverpool has been nothing short of sensational.
Between them, Salah and Ronaldo have scored an incredible 88 goals and are both on 44 goals each with Lionel Messi the only player to score more this season (45).
The Ballon d’Or has been dominated by Messi and Ronaldo since 2008, however, Salah’s stellar form this season has seen many pundits and fans debating whether he can challenge the status quo and win the individual prize but Real captain Ramos believes the aforementioned duo are on another planet to Salah.
“Crissy and Messi are in another orbit,’ said Ramos to in the pre-match news conference, as reported by the Metro.
“Some players are in fashion. Some disappear; some become great players. Salah is an enormous player. We will see what happens.”
Big quote from Sergio Ramos when asked about Salah/Ronaldo comparison: ‘Crissy and Messi are in another orbit. Some players are in fashion. Some disappear; some become great players. Salah is an enormous player. We will see what happens.’
Ronaldo has scored 15 times in the Champions League, including the incredible overhead kick against Juventus, whilst Salah has scored 11 times in Europe – including in qualifiers.
It’s easy to understand Ramos’ view given that Messi and Ronaldo have been scoring goals consistently and at a phenomenal rate for over a decade.
However, Salah’s 44 goals for the Reds is incredible for someone playing in their first full season in the Premier League and he could break Ruud van Nistelrooy’s record of 44 goals in all competitions achieved in the 2002/2003 season.
Ronaldo vs Salah will be an interesting subplot in what promises to be an electrifying final between two giants of European football.