After taking Anfield by storm last season with an astonishing 44 goals goals as Liverpool reached the Champions League Final, supporters were already talking about Mohamed Salah in the same breath as the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
For over a decade it has been the same two names at the top of the world football table, battling for the biggest trophies at club-level and exchanging the likes of the Ballon d’Or on an annual basis.
As age begins to catch up with the duo and they find themselves on the wrong side of 30, Neymar was seen as the natural successor while the Brazilian’s Paris Saint-Germain team-mate Kylian Mbappe is another destined for stardom after wowing at this summer’s World Cup.
Liverpool will have to worry about both players when this season’s Champions League gets underway after the September international break, yet it is Salah who has taken the first steps at ending Ronaldo and Messi’s decade-long domination.
The Egyptian has been shortlisted for The Best FIFA Men's Player Award ahead of the FIFA Football Awards later this month, becoming the first Premier League player to be up for the award since 2008.
He is also the first African confederation footballer to reach the final three shortlist since Samuel Eto'o in 2005.
His competition stands in the form of Ronaldo (the last Premier League winner) and Luka Modric. For the first time since 2006, Messi did not make the cut.
Reigning holder Ronaldo was always going to be in contention after helping Real Madrid win the Champions League for a third season in a row.
The Portuguese matched Salah’s total of 44 goals across all competitions before impressing for his homeland at the World Cup in Russia, memorably scoring a hat-trick against Spain.
Meanwhile, Modric too shone over the summer as Croatia reached the World Cup Final, walking away with the Golden Ball award for best player despite their defeat to France to add another trophy to his ever-growing collection with Real Madrid.
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