Stoke City boss Paul Lambert has suggested that Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo still deserve to be regarded as the best two players in the world.

The Barcelona and Real Madrid forwards have enjoyed excellent respective campaigns once more, but the form of Liverpool winger Mohamed Salah has led to the Egyptian international putting himself into the mix for the Ballon d'Or.

However, despite Salah netting 43 goals in all competitions this season, Lambert says that he PFA Player of the Year winner still has work to do in order to match Messi and Ronaldo.

The 48-year-old is quoted by PA as saying: "The season he's had has been phenomenal but I still think the best players on the planet are Ronaldo and Messi.

"The reason I say that is because they have done it season after season, but I don't think anybody could have predicted the season Salah has had."

When asked about the Ballon d'Or, Lambert added: "He must be in the running, but again, he's in an era with those two in front of him, so it's incredibly tough."

Salah could potentially feature when Stoke face Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday.