Liverpool could be handed a boost in their attempts to hang on to after he was tipped to win the Ballon d’Or.

Salah craves being crowned the ’s best footballer and knows that with his 33rd birthday fast approaching, he can only achieve that success at while playing in Europe. He can dictate his wages if he were to join Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia’s Pro League, but he knows they would not give him the global platform he has at Anfield.

It is a more-open race for the Ballon d’Or with no major national championships this summer and Salah senses this could be his year. The Egyptian star scored his record-breaking 50th European goal for against Lille and now has 22 goals and 18 assists from his phenomenal season.

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He knows he will have a great chance of lifting the Ballon d’Or if he can lead the Reds to or glory. This could help Liverpool in their quest to agree a contract with Salah, whose current deal expires in June, and they are at loggerheads over the terms and length of any new agreement.

Former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock feels Salah is in pole position to win the Ballon d’Or because of his red-hot form. “I think so, yes, with the way he’s playing, but football can change very quickly,” he told .

“If you have a good end to the Champions League and start scoring goals, then it can be swayed pretty quickly, but on current form, absolutely.” While Liverpool fans have always loved Salah, Warnock feels he has been “underappreciated” outside Anfield.

“I think it’s interesting that he was never in the Ballon d’Or picture for quite a few years and you wonder how with the stats and what he’s achieved,” said Warnock. “The big thing for Mohamed Salah is there are games where he’s quiet and then pops up with a moment of magic.

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“That’s what his game is all about, praying on lapses of concentration and mistakes from defenders and he’s ready to capitalise on it. He’s not under appreciated by Liverpool fans and the Premier League, but maybe outside of the league for some reason.

“I’m not sure why, but maybe there are other names on the tips of people’s tongues. When you talk about what Vinicius Junior was doing last year and felt he should’ve won the Ballon d’Or, Salah is ahead of those stats already as to what he achieved last season. It’s probably very frustrating for him because he will feel he should be in the mix for those awards more.”

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