Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has admitted that his side must attempt to keep Cristiano Ronaldo quiet if they are to beat Real Madrid and win the Champions League.
The Portugal international has been at the peak of his powers in the second half of the campaign, netting 30 times for club and country since the middle of January.
Ronaldo is once again in contention for the Ballon d'Or award, which he has already won on five previous occasions, but he faces competition from long-term rival Lionel Messi and Liverpool ace Mohamed Salah.
On the back of a campaign that saw Salah finish as the Premier League's leading goalscorer, however, Klopp claims that the Egyptian still has a long way to go before he can match the longevity of Ronaldo.
"It is not about having the better individual, usually it is about playing the better football, and for that to happen you need all the others as well," The Guardian quotes the German as saying.
"Mo has played a fantastic season but even he would admit Cristiano has been performing at that level for years. His numbers are crazy, he has been 15 years at the top and scored about 47,000 goals, but I still don't like making comparisons between players.
"At the time when Pele was at his peak people didn't go around comparing him to anyone else, they just thought he was the best and were glad to have him. Now we have Messi and Ronaldo. They have dominated football for such a long time even though there are so many other good players.
"They are both similar in the way that in the final moment they are very often in the right position to score a goal, and that is the most difficult thing in the world to do. That's why they are where they are. Their awards are well deserved, because when they stop playing we will miss them, 100%."
Salah scored 43 goals on his way to being crowned the PFA and FWA Footballer of the Year.
Daniel Lewis
