Strong Arab competition in the golden ball
For the second year in a row, Mohamed Salah, the star of Liverpool and Egypt, is nominated for the Golden Ball Award by France Football magazine for the best player in the world.
But this year is exceptional, as there is Arab competition for Salah from Manchester City player Riad Mehrez and captain of Algeria.
Last year, Mohamed Salah finished sixth in the standings, despite his record-breaking digital leap in the Premier League. 1-3 against Real Madrid.
Riad Mehrez is also running for the second time in the Golden Ball Award, where he finished seventh in 2016, which also saw him win the award for the best player in the league with a historic achievement led by Leicester City to win the title in one of the biggest football surprises of the century.
This time, however, the two Arab stars seem to have a better chance of being in a better position, because their respective marches throughout 2019 have seen many individual and collective achievements.
Salah retained the Golden Boot award for the second season in a row with 22 goals in 38 games, but shared the award with fellow Sadio Mane and Gabonese striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Collectively, Salah was a mainstay of Liverpool's sixth Champions League title, scoring the first goal against Tottenham in the final before Reds boosted their advantage with a second goal.
In the European championship, Salah scored 5 goals and made 2 in 12 games.
