Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah does not get the credit he deserves after breaking the 200-goal barrier for his club.
That is according to Paul Merson, who believes more respect should be put on the Egyptian's name following his "extraordinary" achievement, while he also rates Salah as a step above the likes of Bukayo Saka and Phil Foden.
"In a way, I feel sorry for Salah," the former Arsenal player wrote in his Sky Sports column.
"I really don't think he gets the credit he deserves for what he's done and is doing at Liverpool. He's similar to Wayne Rooney for me in that regard. He was another who didn't get the credit he deserved.
"Salah puts up figures that blow everyone away. 200 goals for Liverpool already, playing on the right wing. It's extraordinary.
"Everyone tells me that Bukayo Saka is one of the best wingers in the world but playing in exactly the same position as Salah, he gets nowhere near his figures. What Salah produces at the highest level is just mind blowing. We talk about Jack Grealish and Phil Foden, who are unbelievable footballers, but they won't score as many as Salah put together.
"He's definitely in the top five players in the world for me. He always gets massive goals in massive football matches, and I can't speak highly enough of him as a player."
Following a down year for his club, Salah finished 11th in the recent Ballon d'Or voting having never ranked better than fifth, where he came in 2019 and 2022.
Salah has bagged 14 goals and eight assists this campaign, compared to Saka's eight goals and 12 assists, Foden on seven and five, and Grealish on two goals and two assists. In a rough comparison to Rooney, the Manchester United legend notched a goal every 0.45 goals-per-game and 0.25 assists for the Red Devils, whereas Salah has managed 0.61-goals-per-game and 0.26 assists for his current team.
The 31-year-old will take on rivals United this weekend as Liverpool look to build a lead in the Premier League title race, where Merson reckons their attacking depth gives the Reds an advantage.
"It is their prolific front line which gives them the greatest optimism, in my opinion" he added. "Salah, [Luis] Diaz, [Cody] Gakpo, [Diogo] Jota and [Darwin] Nunez - they all have the ability to get double figures this season. That's a luxury.
"You can pick Salah and any of the other two and you are not weakening the team in any way. You saw that on Saturday against Crystal Palace. Things weren't going to plan but you can make changes that can have an impact on the game.
"Compare that to Arsenal and while they do have good players in Leandro Trossard and Eddie Nketiah replacing the likes of Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus, you feel like they are weakening the team. That's not the case with Liverpool's options.
"You could argue Man City have better players going forward but they don't have players that will score more than Liverpool's five. If they can keep Virgil van Dijk fit at the back, the forwards will get the goals and that is why I think Liverpool have every chance of winning the title."
