Mohamed Salah is not world class, claims ex-Russia star

Mohamed Salah is ‘not a world class football star’, according to Russia international Denis Cheryshev’s father. 

Dmitri Cheryshev represented Russia 10 times during his playing career and is preparing to watch his son take on Egypt and Salah during the host nation’s second game at the World Cup.

Salah, 25, was sensational for Liverpool in 2017-18, winning the Golden Boot and bagging 44 goals in all competitions.

Dmitri Cheryshev believes that Salah will not be as good for Egypt as he has been for Liverpool

He is yet to appear at the World Cup after picking up a shoulder injury in the Champions League final, but Egypt have declared he will be fit for their second game on Tuesday.

Even so, Cheryshev senior does not believe Salah will impress as much for his national team as he does for his club side. 

Cheryshev told KingFut: ‘He is an exceptional player, but [he is] not a world-class football star who can compete for the [World Cup] Golden Boot.

‘Right now [the contenders for the award] are Ronaldo, Messi, Neymar and maybe [Harry] Kane.

Salah was confined to a role on the bench due to his recent injury issues during Egypt’s opener

‘Liverpool uses Salah properly, here, in the Egyptian national team, things will be different.’

While the 49-year-old is not fearful over Salah, he does believe Egypt manager Hector Cuper can make a difference in Tuesday’s game.

Cheryshev added: ‘The team is getting ready for Egypt.

‘I played against [Egypt head coach Hector] Cuper’s teams before, he is the most tactical coach, you never know how to approach his teams. Any chance we might have we should use [in that match].’

The 26-year-old picked up the Golden Boot after an exceptional goalscoring season