Liverpool's Mohamed Salah has enjoyed a brilliant start to the season and his form has led to him being hailed as the best player in the world right now.
The 29-year-old, who grabbed a hat-trick in Sunday’s 5-0 Premier League win at Manchester United, has scored in every game bar one this campaign.
If the Ballon d'Or vote was tomorrow, here's six reasons why we think the Egyptian King would come out as world number one:
Form of his life
Salah has scored 15 goals in 13 appearances. The only team to prevent him finding the net are Burnley, back on August 21.
By comparison, in his first year at the club when he broke the single-season Premier League scoring record (32) on his way to 44 goals, he had six at the same stage of the campaign.
Excelling in xG
Salah's 10 Premier League goals this season have come from an expected goals total of just 7.83 according to Infogol. while his 15 in all competitions have come from 11.27.
It suggests Salah is creating goals out of nowhere, while he has no issues putting away big chances.
It's the same story with assists too. Salah has five league assists from an xA of 3.10.
Record-breaking run
The Egyptian’s first goal at Old Trafford was the 10th successive match in which he had scored. He is the first man to achieve the feat in the club’s 129-year history.
After scoring against Norwich in August he became the first player in Premier League history to net on the opening day of five consecutive seasons.
Surpassing the greats
When Salah found the net in the draw at Brentford last month, he became the fastest player to score 100 top-flight goals for Liverpool.
His century came in his 151st match and although overall it was behind Roger Hunt (148) and Jack Parkinson (149) some of their goals were scored in the second division.
A couple of weeks earlier he became only the second African player to score 100 goals in the Premier League and his opener at Manchester United, Liverpool’s third, took him past Didier Drogba’s 104.
🤯 Just look at Mo Salah's astonishing season stats in all competitions after his incredible hat-trick from seven shots (1.95 xG) against Manchester United.
— Sporting Life Football & Infogol (@InfogolApp) October 24, 2021
🏆 No wonder he's been slashed to 6/1 third favourite behind Messi & Lewandowski to win the Ballon d'Or.#LFC #MUNLIV pic.twitter.com/oQVa38Road
European star
Salah’s second goal against Atletico was his 31st for Liverpool in the Champions League (one came in a qualifier). That is one better than former Reds captain Steven Gerrard.
Consistency King
Labelled a one-season wonder by critics after registering an incredible 44 goals in his maiden campaign for Liverpool, Salah has never scored fewer than 23 goals in any one season.
His total for Liverpool currently stands at 140 in 215 matches, which puts him 10th on the club’s all-time goalscorers list after just four full seasons.
He is 18 behind eighth-placed Michael Owen, having played 82 fewer matches, while another 47 goals will lift him above Gerrard into fifth place.
He has been Premier League Golden Boot winner twice (once joint) in four years.