Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah has dismissed comments made by his manager, Jurgen Klopp, that he is the finest player in the world right now.
The 29-year-old Egypt international has been in excellent form for the Reds this season, scoring 12 goals in 11 appearances and being dubbed “the best player in the world” by Klopp following his miraculous strike against Watford in the Premier League last week.
Salah told Sky Sports, as cited by the club’s official website, ahead of Liverpool’s visit to Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday: “It sounds great to me, but I think it’s always opinion.” I can’t say I’m the best player in the world — some people think I’m the best, while others don’t.
“I’m just happy about my performance at the moment, but I would always say its opinion.
“It’s always the ambition to be the best player in the world. I don’t have to lie. It’s something that drives me to work really hard and just try to be the best version of myself.
“In my head, I’m the best player all the time. I’m trying to have that confidence in my head. It doesn’t matter if some people agree with you, some people not.”
Salah remarked after becoming the first Liverpool player in history to score in nine consecutive games with his match-winning penalty against Atletico Madrid in the Uefa Champions League: “I’m always looking at where I can improve.”
“The goal against Man City was my right foot, a tight angle – I’m always practising after training, before training in the gym.
“I’m always thinking, ‘If I’m in this situation, what can I do? How can I finish well? How can I pass the ball to someone to score?”
“The staff here work with me well to practise after training – finishing, cutting inside with the left foot. I’m not thinking I can relax, I’m always looking to improve.”
Salah has also expressed his displeasure when Liverpool is referred to as an underdog.
“I hate the word that we are underdogs or something, who can’t win something because of that or that. I’m always saying that we have to win something because we play for Liverpool,” Salah continued.
“When I first started to play in Egypt, I said, ‘I want to play in Europe, I want to have the best career from an Egyptian player.’ Then once I got in Basel, I said, ‘No, I want to do something really special.’
“It’s always in my mind like, ‘You are here now – what do you want next?’ I’m always trying to find something [to] drive me hard and drive me to work really hard and achieve what I want.
“It’s always the next thing for me because once you accept where you are and just relax, you can start going down. Once you have the next target and the next target, that’s what can drive you. That’s how you achieve great things.
“I’m just trying my best to help the team to win games, to win trophies. I like to win things with the club. I like the club here a lot, I love the club.”
