COMMENT: Mohamed Salah and Kevin De Bruyne. Two proper footballers. Two proper football men. And proof there's still room at the top for players of humility. In other words, sometimes the nice guy does finish first.
Whether it's the 40-goal Salah of Liverpool or Manchester City's talisman De Bruyne, Sunday's PFA Player of the Year vote will be reward for the best of this sport. Unwavering drive, perseverance and self-belief. No matter what some critics say. No matter their status in the game. The success of De Bruyne and Salah is proof: in football, hard work and inner strength can take you a long way.
For both players, getting to this point has been no easy ride. Yes, there's the mutual connection. The Chelsea connection. But that's been done to death. De Bruyne and Salah have had to overcome a helluva lot more than Jose Mourinho's opinion to stand on the dais tonight.
In Belgium, as he was coming through at Genk, many never saw in De Bruyne what the world is witnessing today. Yes, he was part of their golden generation. Yes, he was spoken of highly. But it was never in the same breath as Eden Hazard. It was always the Chelsea man who would put Belgian football on the global map again. De Bruyne was an afterthought. The ugly duckling. The third wheel... literally. Even this year, Belgian football named Hazard their best performing player abroad ahead of De Bruyne - erm no, we don't get it either.
And we say literally, because five years ago De Bruyne was at the loser's end of a love triangle. In his career, grasping for recognition in the shadow of Hazard. And at the same time off the pitch, being marked as the loser in a glam mag scandal involving a former girlfriend and old Chelsea teammate Thibaut Courtois. This appeared it for De Bruyne. Destined to be forever the third wheel. But what do they say about revenge and living well...?
Because today, De Bruyne sits top of the world. His marriage last year to Michele Lacroix was front and backpage news in Belgium. They have a young son. And it is the City man whom managers point their young players towards as a role model to follow. Unlike Hazard, there's no stories coming out of the Etihad campus questioning De Bruyne's attitude and ambition. And when we talk Ballon d'Or, it's the former who is now the afterthought, while for those who rate such things, De Bruyne is the real deal.
As is Salah. After all, 40-plus goals and a run to the Champions League semis is always going to elevate a player to the Ballon d'Or elite. But it wasn't always this way. For the Egyptian, there was no smooth progress through the various youth levels. FC Basle knew they had something when Salah was signed six years ago. They just did not know what. And it took the player's humility in allowing their coaching staff to break down his game and build it up again to lay the foundations for the record breaking genius we see today.
“When he arrived he was clearly a great talent but was very cavalier," recalled former FCB striker and current youth coach Alexander Frei earlier this year. "There wasn't much in the way of pattern to his play.
“I put him on special shooting sessions and it did make him more effective in front of goal. I know he appreciated it.
“What we quickly noticed was his desire to do the necessary work. Every day he was prepared to put in the hard yards before and after training."
When you see the energy of Salah's performances today. Scurrying around Anfield like a madman. You can just imagine Frei witnessing the same high octane approach day after day on the FCB training pitch. In terms of the man and personality, there's been no change from Salah. Yes, there's natural talent. But that will only take you so far - less so when you're born and raised on the other side of the globe. Salah has been wringing every last drop of his body's potential for every day over the past six years. You see it in his play. His performance. His goals. His personality shines through his football.
That's not to say Salah's any soft touch. He won't be pushed around. Just ask the Della Valle family, the billionaire owners of Fiorentina. Even the threat of a FIFA ban wouldn't stop Salah quitting the Viola for Roma in a messy transfer three years ago. Fiorentina claimed breach contract. Salah refused to back down. And his agent branded them clowns. In the end, Fiorentina were left with nothing and Salah was a Roma player.
De Bruyne is the same. Family man. City star. And not frightened to say his piece when needed. Roberto Martinez, Belgium's World Cup coach, was on the wrong end of a De Bruyne blast earlier this season. The midfielder slamming Martinez's system and tactics after a 3-3 draw with Mexico. It wasn't Hazard or Courtois who piped up, but De Bruyne. Friendly or not, going through the motions isn't enough for him.
So who should win? For this column, the feats of Salah deserve recognition. De Bruyne has been outstanding in the outstanding team in the country. But Salah has made history with Liverpool this season - time and again. To see all those records fall - and yet be ignored by his peers? It just wouldn't make sense for fans looking back in a few years' time.
But whether it is Salah or De Bruyne, there's one man who can be regarded as a winner no matter the outcome. A Nigerian now living and working in Monaco. Beyond anyone else in the game, it was Michael Emenalo who recognised the potential of both players as Chelsea's technical director. Tonight is justification for those two deals - and confirmation of Emenalo's qualities as a talent spotter.
Like his two former proteges, Emenalo is no grand self promoter. He likes his work to do his talking for him. And tonight, no matter who ultimately wins, we'll have proof you can still get to the top without the bluster.
