Mohamed Salah will win the Ballon d'Or this year - provided he leads Egypt to glory in the Africa Cup of Nations.
That's the view of the Liverpool star's international boss, Javier Aguirre.
Salah, 27, is currently on international duty, leading the Pharoahs bid for continental glory, having already fired the Reds to the European Cup.
The razor-sharp forward missed training on Thursday with a cold, but will lead the AFCON hosts in their last-16 clash with South Africa on Saturday night.
Salah has scored two goals in his side's three group games, as they eased through a group containing Uganda, DR Congo and Zimbabwe, taking maximum points.
And speaking on Friday, Aguirre declared that if Salah can lead an Egypt side to a first AFCON title since 2010 - an eighth overall - then he is a certainty for world football's biggest individual prize.
“I see him so far struggling and struggling hard to win the Ballon d’Or. Why not? He is a Champions League winner with Liverpool,†he told Cadena Sur.“If he can lead Egypt to the African Cup of Nations, no one can keep the Ballon d’Or away from him.â€
South Africa boss Stuart Baxter has insisted all the pressure is on the hosts in Cairo, claiming it would be a 'national disaster' if Egypt are beaten.
"The fact that we're playing against the home nation is inspiring," said Baxter.
"Knowing the Egyptian people, knowing their passion for football, knowing their expectations are very high, knowing that they have some great players, I believe that the pressure would be more on them.
"It's our job to bring maybe some frustration. If we can do that and the crowd become a little bit impatient, the players will feel that on the field."
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Source:mirror.co.uk