Mohamed Salah and the next Liverpool superstar ready to challenge Ronaldo and Messi

Mohamed Salah's first two seasons in Liverpool signify that the king of Egypt has established himself as one of the real superstars of the game.

But tonight, in the backyard of Salah, it is one of his teammates of the Reds that could take him to the next level.

Sadio Mane will lead Senegal to the Africa Cup of Nations finals with Algeria in Cairo with a weight of hope on his shoulders.

Senegal has never won the CAN and Mane, the undisputed star of her country, hopes to change that.

If the 27-year-old manages to achieve his goals, he will consolidate not only his status in Senegal, but also his claim to be named winner of this year's Ballon d'Or.

Mane is one of four Liverpool players – with Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Alisson – ranked among the six favorites to win the coveted individual prize after the club's glorious triumph in the Champions League.

The two other players who are at the top of the bookmakers are, unsurprisingly, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Their incredible achievements with Barcelona and Real Madrid allowed the duo to have a 10-year hold on the Golden Ball until Luka Modric broke it in 2018.

Ed Dove, an expert in African football, does not know if Mane, who has scored three goals in five tournament debut, win the CAN since tonight would encourage the dreaded striker to win the honor of 2019.

But Dove, talking about a special Blood Red podcast to watch the final at the Cairo International Stadium, thinks Mane and Salah have a great chance of winning this award in the years to come.

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"I am sadly wondering how much the CAN counts in the Gold Ball vote, as only one African player has ever won the Gold Ball. It is George Weah (in 1995), who has never failed to win the Nations Cup. title, "he said.

"The Nations Cup has therefore never really influenced the balloting at the top of the Golden Ball, but I certainly think that Mane's performance in the Champions League, combined with successes in an international competition, would certainly put him in the pretenders, especially not in a world cup year.

"But even if it's not this year, the time could be good for Salah and Mane, as we come to the end of the Messi and Ronaldo cycle that has dominated football so much over the last decade.

"Between 2008 and 2018, when Modric won the Ballon d'Or, Messi and Ronaldo won. Thus, despite the success of Didier Drogba in 2012, he was not even close.

"But although they're both great players, and I'll never dismiss them, maybe by the end of their glory years, football needs new superstars and I think Mane at 27 and Salah at 27 also, Over the next two or three years, who would like to win the Golden Ball as anyone.

But tonight, Mane's only goal will be the CAN title.

On the way to Senegal is an Algerian team headed by Riyad Mahrez, whose team Manchester City has propelled Liverpool into the Premier League after an unprecedented championship race.

"To a certain extent, it's called Mane v Mahrez because I think football in general, and certainly African football, likes to focus on the stars, pin the big names, the visible players," said Dove, report on the tournament in Egypt.

"But there are a lot of different elements going on. It is also North Africa against West Africa, the two regional powers of the continent, and it is a battle between two very well ranked teams in African football and who have not had success to match.

"Algeria has only one title from the CAN and Senegal has never won it before. They both believe they are more successful in AFCON tournaments than they are today, which gives them an advantage. "