Liverpool fans are unsure about Mohamed Salah’s Ballon d’Or chances even after an incredible season
Below is a summary of the full article. Click here for the full version or go back to LFC Live.net.
The Ballon d’Or is one of football’s most coveted individual prizes, and Mohamed Salah is one of the four Liverpool players vying for the trophy.
Last season, Arne Slot, in his first year in the Premier League, won the title in April after he made the Reds into one of the most dominant forces in England, and the 33-year-old winger was an integral part of that success.
Salah, in that league title-winning season, scored 29 goals and recorded 18 assists to propel Liverpool to championship glory for the second time in his career at the club.
However, while being a consistent success in England’s top flight for the majority of his eight seasons, he has never won the award for individual brilliance despite his trophy successes and record-breaking statistics.
This year, he is once again up for the award, which celebrates the contributions of an individual player across one season, but some are doubtful that he will be able to win it.
Photo by Jose Hernandez/Anadolu via Getty Images
The Ballon d’Or has celebrated talents like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo over the years, but the closest a player in red has come in recent times is Virgil van Dijk, who was a runner-up to the Argentine.
Salah’s highest ranking across his footballing career has been fifth in 2019 and 2022, the former a year where he was a Premier League champion for the first time.
It will once again be difficult for the ‘Egyptian King’ to be victorious, given that Ousmane Dembele from the Champions League-winning Paris Saint-Germain team is the heavy favourite going into this evening’s ceremony.
MORE LIVERPOOL STORIES
Liverpool fans have been discussing how their player deserves the trophy, but are not sure he will be victorious on the night, and may not even rank above some of Europe’s other top talents.
One fan does not see the man who rips up the right-hand side of the attack winning the award, but believes he is a deserving winner.
He wrote: “Ain’t no way they give it to Mo, although he really deserves it.”
Another agreed and offered the reason that he did not win it was because his team did not make it past the Round of 16 in European competition.
They wrote: “If only we went deep in the CL, he would have won it.”
While some believe he could place in the five best, this fan cannot see it happening and believes a standout youngster will take the trophy.
“He might not even be in the top five, I think (Lamine) Yamal wins it sadly,” they stated.
However, this person adamantly believes the trophy should go to the modern club legend.
They explained: “He has to win it tbh.
Salah has so many individual accolades from last season, he has to win if that’s what the Ballon d’Or is based off of this year.”
Another wrote: “They show him too much disrespect.”
While there is a set of criteria for the award, this fan says it should be based on longevity, which would favour Salah.
“You should be able to get the Ballon d’Or on merit over so many years man, if he doesn’t get one, it’ll be a massive shame,” they wrote.
His output across all seasons is something to behold, but his contributions last season far surpass what he has done previously.
Last season, Salah registered 47 goal contributions in the Premier League, which was 13 more than any other player in Europe’s top five leagues, according to Opta.
Winning the title in one of, if not the, strongest leagues in the world is unprecedented.
It would be unfortunate for him to end his career without the award, but no matter what, his time at the club will be remembered for so much more than one trophy.