Paris Saint-Germain centre-back Thiago Silva has praised Liverpool forward Sadio Mane for his performances over the past year. The Brazilian international believes the Senegalese striker is one of the best players in the world, and he is backing him to be in contention for the Ballon d’Or:

“Sadio Mane is a world-class player. He is almost perfect. He moves very fast, controls the ball well and is very intelligent in his movements. With what he has achieved this year, I think he deserves to be in the discussion for the Ballon d’Or.”

Considering Silva is a defender, you would think that he would be keener to back a fellow centre-back in Virgil van Dijk, who is also a candidate for the award, but the praise for Mane is certainly well deserved.

The 27-year-old has been arguably Liverpool’s best attacking player since the start of the season and was recently given a ringing endorsement by Anfield legend Jamie Carragher.

With eight goals in 11 appearances for the Reds this campaign, Mane continues to put his case forward as one of the leading forwards in the world, after also bagging the Premier League golden boot last season, along with teammate Mo Salah and Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.