Philippe Coutinho threw down a gauntlet for Liverpool attacker Mohamed Salah by saying he was one of only two players who could potentially outshine Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo at the World Cup.
The former Reds midfielder delivered a glowing endorsement of his former teammate’s abilities before claiming that only Salah or Neymar had a serious claim at taking the title of the best in the world away from Messi or Ronaldo.
He’s available at 50/1 with most betting promotions to be top goalscorer at the World Cup and Coutinho heaped praised on the 25-year-old Reds winger after issuing the indirect challenge and shared he could be successful at the tournament depending how it goes for Egypt.
Coutinho heaped praised on the 25-year-old Reds winger after issuing the indirect challenge and shared he could be successful at the tournament depending how it goes for Egypt.
“It feels like the right moment for someone to take their chance at this World Cup,” said Coutinho, as quoted by the Daily Mail.
“Messi and Ronaldo have been up there on their own for so many years. I think it may be time for other players to aspire to be the best in the world – and the best at this World Cup, too.
“For me, Salah and Neymar have serious chances to do that, it depends on how the tournament goes, of course, but they have the talent to do it. Those are the players I would pick out.
“He (Salah) is going to be a player who will be a big hero at Liverpool for a long time, I am totally convinced of that, he can do well in the World Cup, too – it all depends on how far his team can go.
“But we also know what Neymar can bring. He is a special player.”
OPINION
Coutinho certainly has a lot of praise for his former teammate and it’s easy to see why. With the 25-year-old Reds player having ended the 2017/18 campaign with 44 goals in 52 outings, few would bet against him becoming the best footballer in the world. While some may just think he’ll be a one-season wonder, a successful World Cup would surely put that fear to bed. It’s just unfortunate that after suffering an injury in the Champions League final, Salah goes into the high stakes tournament not 100%. While the attacker did make Egypt’s World Cup squad, as reported by the BBC, in the perfect world there would be nothing holding him back from firing on all cylinders on one of football’s biggest stages. However that is not the case and hopefully for the tournament’s sake, as well as his, the winger is able to defy the odds and quickly put his recent injury behind him. In regards to Coutinho’s other nomination for who could dethrone Messi or Ronaldo, he’s clearly got a chance of being right by putting Neymar’s name forward.
