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Mohamed Salah is the current favorite to win the Ballon d'Or later this year as he continues to spearhead Liverpool's pursuit of Premier League and Champions League glory.

The Egyptian has scored more goals and registered more assists than any other player in Europe's top five leagues this season, and at 32 years old he is in the best form of his career.

Should Salah win the Ballon d'Or, he would become the first African player to do so since George Weah in 1995, and few would argue that he won't deserve it should he continue his excellent form in the coming months.

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have dominated the Ballon d'Or since 2008, with the award ending up with someone other than Messi or Ronaldo on just three occasions in the last 17 years.

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Those two players set new standards at the top of the game, but not every winner of the award has been a superhuman, and there are plenty of players who have won the award without racking up the kind of numbers we are seeing from Salah this term.

Luis Figo won the award in December 2000, having registered 14 goals and 22 assists in 52 appearances for Barcelona during the previous season, while Michael Owen claimed the gong 12 months later after a 2000-01 season in which he scored 24 goals and registered seven assists.

In Owen's favor was the fact that Liverpool won three trophies during that campaign, and the former England striker scored two goals in the FA Cup final and assisted two more in the Uefa Cup final.

Ronaldo Nazario won the 2002 Ballon d'Or based on his World Cup exploits as he scored eight times for Brazil on its way to winning the tournament for a record fifth time, despite being plagued by injury and scoring just eight goals in 17 appearances for Inter Milan during the 2001-02 season.

Another player to win the award with relatively underwhelming statistics for his club was Pavel Nedved, who claimed the gong in 2003 after a 2002-03 season in which he registered 14 goals and 11 assists for Juventus.

Ronaldo and Messi routinely had 50-goal seasons, with Messi once winning the Ballon d'Or after scoring a staggering 73 goals for Barcelona during the previous season, but they are no longer in the equation.

Salah's numbers, should he maintain them, could well be enough to secure the gong, although much may depend on Liverpool's success in the Champions League, with his closest challenger, Kylian Mbappe, now playing for serial European cup winner Real Madrid.