Glen Johnson: World’s best player Salah will eventually become Liverpool’s greatest of all time

Former Liverpool defender Glen Johnson claims that Mohamed Salah is currently the world’s best footballer and will eventually earn the right to be considered Liverpool’s greatest player in the club’s history. 

Johnson spoke to us ahead of Liverpool’s trip to Old Trafford to face bitter rivals Manchester United on Sunday, and the ex-England international discussed the recent form of the Egyptian talisman and why he’s the world’s best footballer based on his performances at the start of the current campaign.

“He (Salah) has to be up there as one of Liverpool’s all-time greats,” said Johnson. “The names of players mentioned in terms of goals, such as Steven Gerrard and Robbie Fowler, and Salah being close to them means he deserves to be spoken about in the highest regard. If he continues this way, I have no doubt he’ll get to number one (in the list of Liverpool’s greatest ever players).

“It’s strange as it still feels like he hasn’t been here that long, but he continues to prove people wrong all the time.”

And in Salah’s current vein of form, the former right-back also believes that he should be considered the world’s best player, even ahead of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, and that a Ballon d’Or award is not completely out of the question.

“He should be considered the best player in the world,” added Johnson. “I don’t know what it is, but he always runs around with a question mark on his back, but none of those questions come from Liverpool as his goals and performances speak for themselves and they know his value. It’s harsh that he faces these questions about his quality at times, but that’s the world of football.

“For him to constantly perform and score goals in the manner he does in the Premier League, in my opinion puts him in front of anyone else in the world. If he can do it in the Champions League this season and Liverpool go deep into the competition, then he has to be considered for the Ballon d’Or. I can’t imagine anyone else would be in front of him if that happens.”

Johnson has also been impressed with the start his old side have made to the season and expects Jurgen Klopp’s side to take three points when they head to Manchester this weekend.

“I’ve been impressed with Liverpool this season,” he said. “They are so well drilled, and they all know their roles and each other’s games so well. If you get great players who are well drilled and work hard then you have a winning formula.

“When it comes to this weekend’s match at Old Trafford, Liverpool are the best side without a doubt, but Manchester United potentially have some better individuals. But that’s also their downfall because they play as individuals at times. Liverpool play as a team and they know each other’s strengths, and that’s massive in these games.

“I’m going for 2-1 Liverpool. I’m not sure if that’s what I want or if that’s what I think, but I can see Liverpool bringing their ‘A game’ and winning the match. Both teams have goal machines, and they are both capable of scoring plenty goals. For a goal scorer in the match, it’s hard to look past Salah at the moment, as he’s been on fire.”

Like any other football fan, Johnson is looking forward to seeing both teams face off at Old Trafford on Sunday and looks back fondly of his experiences in playing in this fixture, which he claims is still the biggest in English football.

“It doesn’t matter whether both clubs are fighting for the top four or the title, this is always a massive fixture and one that both sets of players look out for in the calendar,” said Johnson.

“It’s the biggest and best fixture I’ve played in. The atmosphere, at both stadiums, is always amazing, the fans are super passionate, and the behaviour of both sets of supporters in the cities is always special in the week leading up to it. There’s been fantastic clashes over the years going way back.

“The pressure is definitely more on United for this one, especially at home, as they don’t want to lose another home match especially to their biggest rivals. When this game comes around, form goes out the window a little bit as nobody wants to lose.”

The Premier League season has been tight so far, with every team dropping points, somewhat unexpectedly. Johnson believes that this season is shaping up to be one of the greatest of all time and laid out his expectations for the title winner, stating he thinks his former side Chelsea will be top of the pile come May.

“This could definitely be the greatest Premier League season of all time,” said Johnson. “You could argue the title winners could be any of Liverpool, Chelsea or Manchester City. I don’t think anyone would be surprised if it was one of those sides.

“It’s normally a two-horse race, but genuinely it could be three of four teams this year. It’s a great advertisement for the Premier League, and if you had to put a gun to my head and force me to say who I think will win the title I’d probably say Chelsea.

“Thomas Tuchel has done a brilliant job and has won me over, for sure. I didn’t know too much about the style of play he had and it all seemed to happen so quickly that he was appointed immediately after being linked. He knuckled down, got on with it and put in some excellent performances where we’ve seen them dominate matches. It looks like he’s been there for years and they’ll be very hard to stop this season.”

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