Who is the best African player of all time?
And why isn't it the unanimous answer, Mohamed Salah?
Ask around. The responses to the question, while thought-provoking, tend to yield similar answers.
Didier Drogba is often mentioned. Yaya Toure and Samuel Eto'o shouts exist also, while the likes of George Weah, Nwankwo Kanu and Roger Milla are rightfully offered by fans of a certain vintage.
The Egyptian King's future at Liverpool may be up in the air, but so is his legacy in African football.
Often overlooked for the African Player of the Year award, Salah's name tends to sit alongside those names as peers but a triumph at Morocco's AFCON could set him apart as the unequivocally acclaimed king of Africa. He last claimed the award in 2018 and this year he was snubbed for the honour, with PSG's Achraf Hakimi winning it in November.
The football purist may be critical of Salah's preference for the efficient over the aesthetic but his numbers are immutable. With 250 goals for Liverpool, fourth on the all-time Premier League goalscorers list and four English top-flight golden boots, Salah's reputation on these shores is ironclad.
The European stage knows of Salah, too. A winner of the Champions League, Salah has three appearances in the showpiece of the greatest club competition in Europe.
No African player has scored more than the 33-year-old in the Champions League. But there's this overall feeling that Salah still has something to prove.
Salah has never won the AFCON. His country, Egypt are the most successful side in the competition's history with seven wins but two final appearances in 2017 and 2021 are all that Salah can boast.
On the latter occasion, Salah lost out to his then club team-mate Sadio Mane, whose Senegal side won on penalties.
In 2023, his tournament was cut short by injury. After scoring in Egypt's opening game, Salah's injury in the following group clash forced him to return to his club. Egypt eventually fell to a quarter-final defeat to DR Congo after a shootout.
In a scathing response to Salah's post-match Leeds bombshell interview, Jamie Carragher mentioned the Liverpool man's lack of success in Africa earlier this month.
"One thing I just want to remind Mo Salah and maybe his agent is that before he came to Liverpool, Mo Salah was known as the guy who failed at Chelsea.
"That's just a fact. He'd never won a major trophy before he came to Liverpool. He's also the greatest player his country has ever had. Egypt, in the Africa Cup of Nations, are the most successful nation. Mo Salah's never won the AFCON. You weren't a big star before you came to Liverpool.
"You haven't really won anything with Egypt. All that's telling you is, no matter how good a player you are, you need help from your team-mates, your manager and fans."
No doubt, Carragher's words will fuel Salah in Morocco, but is the AFCON the yardstick for Africa's best?
Drogba never claimed the trophy despite featuring in a golden generation Ivory Coast team, who went on to win the competition a year after his retirement. Weah, the 1995 Ballon D'Or winner, is another who represented Liberia in 1996 and 2002, but failed to win the competition.
Context should be applied here, with Egypt having a population 20 times larger than Liberia. Liberia's only two AFCON appearances also came with Weah in the team. However, Weah's reputation remains lofty.
Salah is the lifeblood of his nation. It's his third as captain but fifth overall attempt and likely his last to bring the trophy back to Egypt.
While not among the clear favourites, Salah's mere presence in his side boosts their chances. Manager Hassan Hassam knows a thing or three about winning the competition, having done so as a player in consecutive appearances in 1996, 1998 and 2006.
The North African climate in Morocco will feel familiar to the Egyptians. The comparable climate will work well to ease the 11 players in the Egypt squad who are yet to appear at an AFCON.
The blend of fresh faces and the experience of Salah and Manchester City's Omar Marmoush should serve the Pharaohs well.
Whether they are able to stack up against the likes of Morocco, Ivory Coast, Senegal and Nigeria who are among the favourites, will remain to be seen.
The hopes of the nation will rest on Salah as they begin their campaign against Zimbabwe in Group B. And so will Salah's own hopes of being crowned Africa's finest.
