Former Liverpool star says Reds have a player who reminds him of Cristiano Ronaldo

Former Liverpool player Ray Houghton has likened Mohamed Salah to Cristiano Ronaldo for the way the Egyptian forward looks after himself.

At 32, Salah is showing no sign of slowing down and is arguably, remarkably, in the form of his Liverpool career, with 10 goals and 10 assists already this season.

Due to advancements in sports science and how players are treated, soccer stars are generally playing at a higher level for longer into their 30s than they used to, and Salah is certainly doing exactly that. The Egypt international has always taken care of his body, which is evidenced by his chiselled physique, and he has barely missed any games in his Liverpool career due to injury as a result.

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Portugese legend Ronaldo is another player who has always taken good care of himself, and that enabled him to play at the top level in Europe for 20 years, only leaving Manchester United two years ago, aged 37. Haughton said on talkSPORT: “I think the best example is Cristiano Ronaldo. You look at what Ronaldo has done to himself, and how he’s kept himself in prime condition.

“It’s about attitude of mind, it’s about living the right way, it’s about applying yourself. And I think Mo’s in that category. I think he wants to play for as long as he can, because he loves football, he loves scoring goals, he loves assisting.”

Since leaving United, Ronaldo has scored 68 goals in 79 appearances for Al-Nassr, while he has also scored three times in his last four appearances for Portugal. At 39, Ronaldo is seven years older than Salah, which should allay any concerns that Liverpool might have over offering the Egyptian a contract extension at Anfield.

Liverpool does not generally offer long-term deals to players in their 30s, and Salah will be 33 by the time his current contract expires on June 30 next year.

Salah is one of three key players who, as things stand, will become free agents next summer, with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk also into the final eight months of their deals.

Of the three players, Van Dijk has been the most publicly vocal about his wish to stay at Liverpool, saying in September that he wants to remain at the club until at least the 2026 World Cup.

Then, last month he provided an update on negotiations: “I can say obviously discussions are ongoing, but I don’t know, we will see what happens in the future. My full focus is on Liverpool, wanting to win games that are ahead of me and nothing else. What the future will bring I have no idea at the moment. I can only tell you that discussions have been started and we will see.”

Alexander-Arnold said in September that he has no intention of letting his contract talks play out in public, while Salah, besides making a couple of statements that have been branded cryptic in some quarters, has not hinted at whether he would rather stay or leave.