Football
ESPN staff 6y

Liverpool's Mohamed Salah: Player of the Year should go to all finalists

Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah, considered the favourite to be named PFA Player of the Year, has praised the other candidates for the award, telling ESPN Brasil that "everyone deserves it."

Salah leads the race for the Premier League Golden Boot, having scored 30 goals in 32 league appearances entering the weekend.

Joining him on the shortlist for the award, which will be handed out on Sunday, are Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva and Leroy Sane, as well as Tottenham Hotspur's Harry Kane and Manchester United's David De Gea.

"In my opinion, I deserve it," Salah said. "De Bruyne deserves it. Silva also had a great season and he deserves it. De Gea deserves it. And Harry Kane had a great season. He deserves it. All of us try to help our team to get the points and be in a better position. Everyone deserves it."

De Bruyne, who has been the most consistent player for the Premier League champions, is considered to be Salah's greatest challenger for the award, and Kane, with 26 goals in 33 appearances, is the only player who could pip the Egypt international to the scoring honour.

It has been a remarkable season for Salah, who returned to England on a €50 million transfer, including bonuses, from Roma in July.

He spent parts of two seasons at Chelsea following a move from Basel in January 2014 but struggled for first-team football. He went out on a six-month loan to Fiorentina, and a year-long loan to Roma resulted in his purchase in June 2016.

"When I was in Chelsea, I know how the Premier League works," Salah said. "I didn't have my chance in the past, so I went to Rome to get a new challenge and new culture.

"So I did good with Roma and I said, from day one, I was happy to come back. I'm very excited to show everyone my football. I'm having a good season, the team is helping me and I'm happy about that."

With Salah, Liverpool are challenging to finish as runners-up in the Premier League for the first time since 2013-14.

They have also moved on to the semifinals of the Champions League for the first time since 2008 and were drawn against Roma -- which surprised Salah.

"I keep in touch with the old players," Salah said. "Most of them are old friends. When I saw the draw, I was like, 'Wow.' It's something. It's emotion."

And while Liverpool has provided Salah with a fresh challenge this season, his next will come this summer in Russia, when he will represent Egypt in the World Cup.

The country had not qualified for the event since 1990 until Salah's 95th-minute penalty in a qualifier against the Republic of Congo in October.

"Honestly, when we get the penalty, I didn't think about anything else -- I just focused to score it," Salah said. "And I want to score the goals. I didn't know [what] the time was or anything. I was just focused and shot it like what I had in my mind. And that's it."

One of only a handful of Egypt-born players in the Premier League, Salah takes pride in his national identity.

"I'll never forget where I came from," he said. "It's always on my mind. There's not many differences between me and [anyone else]. We're just human beings. In the end, you do your job. I do my job in the best way I can. When I have a chance to go back to my village, I always remind myself where I came from."

As such, he has noticed fans waving the flag of Egypt in the stands at Anfield this season -- and he considers that gesture particularly special.

"It's something that touches my heart because it's always a good feeling when you see the flag and you hear your name in the stands," Salah said. "I'm very happy and proud about that. It's something that makes me work harder and puts pressure on myself to give more and perform better."

And, considering Salah's success at Liverpool thus far, he understands that there will be even more expected of him next season.

"Of course," he said. "I see next season better than this one. I know this season is unbelievable -- I'm scoring many goals and helping the team. But yeah, I have to work hard and perform like this or better next season. It's a bit of pressure, but I'll work hard."

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