Only a year ago, Mohamed Salah had put himself firmly back in the conversation for the Ballon d’Or. He looked as good as ever in Liverpool’s title-winning season with 61 goal involvements. In the end, he didn’t even make the Ballon d’Or podium, paying, perhaps, for Liverpool’s earlier than expected Champions League exit.
Still, his form had led the Reds to reward him with a new two-year contract, making him the highest-paid player in the history of the club and one of the best paid in the world.
It seemed simultaneously irrational and rational. After all, Salah was about to turn 33. Decline was around the corner. Or was it? Salah had avoided major injuries. He possesses abs Ronaldo probably sees as a threat. His peak, as has proven the case with other athletes of this generation, seemed longer than players of a bygone era.
It must have come as a surprise, then, when Salah’s output, in terms of goal involvement, declined 45 per cent. He missed Trent Alexander Arnold. He didn’t have Luis Diaz pressing or attracting defenders on the other side. He looked exposed, a far less extraordinary player on an extraordinary wage.
In mitigation, last season could have been an aberration. A total one-off. The exception. Liverpool went through a lot last year on-and-off the pitch.
But how do you go from prospective Ballon d’Or to Trabzonspor? In one year?
📝 @JamesHorncastle
