Mo Salah wants to be recognised as the best footballer in the world, but he will have to stiek wild at Afcon first after his Egypt side lost their opener 1-0 against fellow African giants Nigeria.
Liverpool ace Salah was kept quiet in Tuesday’s Group D defeat and was outshone by Premier League rival, Leicester striker Kelechi Iheanacho, who scored the only goal of the match, which leaves the Pharaohs bottom of the pool after Sudan and Guinea-Bissau’s goalless draw.
Having ended up seventh in voting for the last Ballon d’Or, Salah is on the three-man shortlist for FIFA's 2021 best men's player alongside Robert Lewandowski and Lionel Messi.
Salah tells GQ: “I can't really lie and say honestly I didn't think about it. No, I think about it. I want to be the best player in the world.
“But I will have a good life even if I don't win.”
Salah wasn’t the only star disappointed on Tuesday, with Riyad Mahrez’s Afcon champs Algeria held to a 0-0 Group E draw with Sierra Leone.