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Rio Ferdinand claims that Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah deserves more respect after becoming the fifth-fastest Premier League player to 100 goals.

The Egyptian has enjoyed spectacular form ever since moving to Anfield from Roma in 2017. However, his achievements in recent weeks have cemented his status as one of the league’s best current stars.

Salah netted his 100th Premier League goal in Liverpool’s 3-0 win over Leeds, 98 of them for the Reds. He did so in 162 games, the fifth-fastest record.

But following a goal against Crystal Palace and another at Brentford on Saturday, he reached a league century for Liverpool.

He achieved that milestone in a club-record 151 games, faster than Roger Hunt.

Still, given the players Salah has beaten – and is behind – in the Premier League’s overall rankings, Ferdinand feels that he deserves more respect.

The pundit told his FIVE YouTube channel: “We need to do a whole segment on Salah not getting the attention, the time, the talk, the focus which he deserves.

“He’s the fifth quickest to 100 Premier League goals in history, and the biggest fact of all that is he’s a wide player. He’s a wide striker, he’s not an actual out-and-out number nine.

“Ahead of him is Alan Shearer, Harry Kane, Sergio Aguero, Thierry Henry and then Salah.”

Salah is currently in discussions over a new contract at Anfield. His current terms expire in 2023, as was previously the case with other Liverpool stars such as Virgil van Dijk and Jordan Henderson.

However, they have since earned new deals, leaving uncertainty over the forward’s future.

Reports have claimed that he wants to become Liverpool’s highest-paid player ever on £500,000 per week.

Ferdinand added that Salah needs to be in the conversation when talking about the world’s best attackers.

Ferdinand wants more Salah plaudits

“From the people I’ve spoken to who have been around him, played with him, worked at the club. He’s focused, he’s got that mentality, that obsession with football, obsession with scoring goals and being at the top of the charts,” Ferdinand added.

“Every game you watch him he gets at least one or two opportunities on goal, created by himself or put on a plate for him.

“He’s an absolute killer. So when you’re talking about the best strikers, the best attackers in world football over the last couple of years, Salah has to be in the conversation.

“Go and watch Salah and what he does. He dominates and destroys top level players on a regular basis. He makes the game look easy, he makes football look easy.

“When a player’s doing that at the speed at which he plays, that tells you they’re high level. Numbers, trophies don’t lie. Salah has it all.”

Ferdinand’s fellow pundit Peter Crouch that a new contract for Salah is a must, given that he walks into the club’s all-time Premier League starting 11.

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