Jurgen Klopp has dismissed questions over a potential Ballon d'Or win for Sadio Mane - saying Liverpool will need to win the Champions League first.
And the Liverpool boss explained the tactical tweak that has allowed Mane to flourish as a centre-forward since the turn of the year.
The Senegal international scored his 20th goal of the campaign in the 2-0 win over Villarreal on Wednesday night. The Reds are now within touching distance of a third European Cup final in five seasons under Klopp.
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Mane has been in inspired form of late. He has scored six times across a productive April - including three times against Manchester City - to help keep Liverpool in the hunt for an unprecedented quadruple.
Asked about the forward's claims for a 2022 Ballon d'Or award, Klopp said his "outstanding" No.10 would probably need to win the European Cup with the Reds before that conversation became a realistic one.
“Mane has had an outstanding season and is an outstanding player," Klopp said. "I have nothing to do with the Ballon d’Or nominations. I don’t understand it 100%.
“He is world class. He again played a really good game for us but I don’t know how I can answer with the season not even over.
“Historically we have to win something to win the Ballon d’Or, most of the time it was like this. If you’re not Messi or Ronaldo you have to probably win the Champions League, which we haven’t done yet.
"Give us a few more weeks and we will see where we end up. Sadio wants to contribute, he wants to help the team and that’s what I love most about it."
On the move central since the signing of Luis Diaz at the end of January, Klopp added: “Why Sadio? I think that’s obvious, it’s because he is doing really well. I like him playing there. He can play left and central, both positions, world class.
"He was world class on the right wing as well, you’ll remember his first goal at Arsenal when he cut inside and fired left foot into the top corner. This is a good alternative.
"But I love Diogo Jota in the centre and Bobby (Roberto Firmino) in the centre and Sadio on the left. We should not be that fixed. We are looking at different ways Sadio plays, sometimes we want him to drop a little bit more, today we wanted him to be more stable between the centre-halves, keep them away and offer the runs in behind.
"It’s all no secret because you can watch it back and you’ll see it anyway, but he has the skillset for it. That’s the reason 100%."
On Naby Keita, Klopp explained how the Guinea international was having his "best season" as a Liverpool player since joining from RB Leipzig in the summer of 2018.
“Naby is having his best season because he is for the longest period fit and that is good for us and good for him," Klopp said. "It was always clear he is an outstanding player and even other seasons when he was not that consistent he played incredible games.
"Watch our big games and you will realise how often Naby was on the pitch for them. It’s a very good moment for him."
