"Earning the respect of everyone around the world" - Thomas Muller suggests Liverpool superstar should have been named in FIFPRO World XI 

Bayern Munich ace Thomas Muller has suggested that Liverpool's Mohamed Salah should've been named in last season's FIFPRO World XI.

The forward was snubbed from the list which was revealed during FIFA's The Best award ceremony in Zurich last month.

Salah didn't have much luck with trophies in the 2020-21 season as the Reds imploded spectacularly in the second half of their campaign.

But the Egyptian ace stood out for his fine individual displays, scoring 31 goals in all competitions, including 22 in the Premier League and six assists to boot.

Yet he was overlooked for the best XI of the season, with Cristiano Ronaldo, Erling Haaland, Robert Lewandowski and Lionel Messi rounding up the forwards.

Salah's absence was particularly curious as he came third in the final rankings for the best player award which Lewandowski won, and now, Muller appears puzzled too.

Speaking to MBC Masr via The Mirror, the German said:

"It's always hard to make the selection, everyone has an opinion, Mo Salah right now is producing outstanding performances and earning the respect of everyone around the world given what he produces."

He empathized with the Liverpool forward, who must've reasonably felt disappointed with the snub, but also felt it could've something to do with Italy's successful Euro campaign last summer.

"It can be disappointing not being picked in the Best XI, but maybe because last summer there was the Euros, and Europe has a big impact on football, Italy has won and this automatically means the presence of multiple Italians in the line-up.

"It's a mix between individual performances & team effort, there's 20 players who deserve the prize but only 4 or 5 make the final cut, but of course, Mo Salah deserves to be there."

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Liverpool ace making his case for next year

Salah is seemingly unfazed by the omission as he continues to make his case to feature in the world XI next year. In 30 games this campaign, he's struck 25 goals, including 17 in the league, and assisted nine more.

He's been the driving force behind Liverpool's title charge as the forward has produced a blistering run of form.

The 29-year-old narrowly missed out on an international trophy earlier this month as Egypt lost to Senegal in the final of the Africa Cup of Nations.

But with Liverpool competing on all four fronts this season, he'll be hoping for better fortunes as it could strengthen his case to feature in next year's best XI.

Liverpool are currently second in the Premier League, six points behind league leaders Manchester City. The Reds also have a game in hand. Klopp's side are also in the Carabao Cup final and have progressed to the fifth round of the FA Cup. They also have an advantage going into the second leg of the Round of 16 Champions League clash with Inter Milan, having won their first tie 2-0 last week.