“I will do everything” – Liverpool star Mohamed Salah makes bold claims about winning Ballon d’Or  in future after being shocked by award result last year

Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah has admitted that finding his name in seventh place in the 2021 Ballon d'Or race came as a shock to him. The Egyptian star made another bold claim to write his name in the history books by winning the prestigious award in the future, if not in 2022.

The 2021 Ballon d'Or was won by l Lionel Messi for taking his national team to the Copa America title. This was Messi's seventh Ballon d'Or award, which made his first international trophy win even more memorable.

Mohamed Salah has been a consistent performer for Liverpool and has played a key role in their success over the past few seasons. In the recently concluded season, Liverpool won two trophies and reached the Champions League finals for the third time in the last five years. The Reds lost to Real Madrid 1-0 in Paris, thanks to a second-half goal from Vinicius Junior.

However, Salah had an amazing last season as he was crowned the joint Premier League Golden Boot award winner alongside Son Heung-min of Tottenham Hotspur. The Egyptian international scored 31 goals for the Premier League side across different competitions and assisted 16.

Speaking to L'Equipe, the Egyptian expressed his shock on his position in the Ballon d'Or rankings last season and made bold future claims. He said via 90min:

"It's great to hear my name cited for the next Ballon d'Or. I don't deny it, I want to be recognized as the best player in the world. And the Ballon d'Or is at the forefront of my goals. It's true that I was shocked by my 2021 ranking."

"For this year, this defeat against Real Madrid [in the Champions League final] is certainly a handicap, even if I had a good match. But it does not cancel everything I have achieved for months. Let's wait for the jury's vote. If I am not going to win Ballon d'Or in 2022, I will do everything to be next."

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Liverpool and Benfica reach full verbal agreement over Darwin Nunez after a meeting in Portugal

Liverpool and Benfica have reached a full verbal agreement for the signing of Darwin Nunez after a meeting between the clubs took place in Portugal on Saturday. The 22-year-old striker will soon play for Liverpool after an official announcement followed by medicals.

Journalist Fabrizio Romano has confirmed the meeting between the two clubs, saying that the deal is very close to being made official after a medical test in England.

Darwin Nunez's name began doing the rounds ahead of the summer transfer market as he scored 34 goals for the Portuguese club across different competitions. Several big European clubs were actively pursuing the young Uruguayan international but it seems Liverpool have won the race for his signature.