Cameroon striker Vincent Aboubakar has opted for the brave move of questioning Mohamed Salah’s quality ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations semi-final against Egypt tonight.
Salah’s Egypt take on hosts Cameroon in the second Afcon semi-final on Thursday evening, with the winners set to take on pre-tournament favourites Senegal in Sunday’s final.
En route to reaching the last four, Salah has scored twice and assisted Trezeguet’s winner against Morocco in the quarter-finals.
Aboubakar leads the way with six goals, and he believes Salah – who has scored 23 goals times for Liverpool this season – is not at the same level as PSG forward Kylian Mbappe.
“He doesn’t impress me much,” Aboubakar told French outlet RFI.
“I say it clearly because I’m an honest person and I have my way of seeing things.
“If he impressed me, I would say so. But he doesn’t impress me much. He’s a good player, he scores a lot but he doesn’t produce a lot of stuff in the game.
“Of course, he’s doing good stuff in the Premier League because he’s been in a team that’s been there for years. He’s a good player but not at the level of someone like (Kylian) Mbappe.”
Salah scored in the group-game win over Guinea-Bissau and then netted the equaliser against Morocco in the 2-1 extra-time win.
Meanwhile, Aboubakar netted in the 2-1 victory over Comoros in the last 16.
The 30-year-old, who plays for Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr, scored five goals in the group stage – a double against Burkina Faso, likewise against Ethiopia, and once more in the draw with Cape Verde.
Source: Eurosport