Former Liverpool defender Glen Johnson believes Mohamed Salah has every chance to emulate Cristiano Ronaldo and maintain his best form until his mid-30s.

The Egypt international will turn 30 next June, when he will only have 12 months left on his current contract.

There has been a lot of debate over Salah’s contractual situation as his club are not used to offering lucrative long-term deals – the striker apparently wants £ 400,000 a week – to players over 30. years.

However, Salah, who has scored in all but one of his 11 appearances this season, would appear to be an exception to that rule.

” It’s difficult. Any contract is a matter of timing. Of course he has the right to be paid on an equal basis with anyone (in the Premier League), ”Johnson, speaking in association with William Hill, told the PA news agency.

“But Liverpool have done their business well and have 20 months left on the contract and at the end of the day he will be 31 and do they want a 31-year-old whether he is that good or not over x- amounting to one hundred thousand per week? I don’t know.

“But in form, the way he still plays, they absolutely have to try to keep him.

“You see the way he plays, you can see that he takes care of himself and trains well, so it wouldn’t surprise me if he pursues a long career like Ronaldo.

“But can he maintain this level of performance that justifies the salary increase for the next five years? We don’t know but it wouldn’t surprise me if he kept fit.

“I don’t see anyone at the moment, I would rather play in front of him. I don’t see anyone scoring the goals like they’re doing right now.

“He set the bar so high (in his first season where he scored 44 goals) that it was right for people to think it would be difficult to do it again.

“But not only does he score for fun, it’s the way he scores – he scores in situations where he’s not allowed to, he regularly beats three or four people and always finds the finish.

“He has proven time and time again that people are wrong. “