Egyptian winger Mohammed Salah’s sterling performance for Liverpool in the 2024/2025 season has made him a strong contender for the Ballon d’Or.
The conversation has become more prominent recently after Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher claimed that the player’s chances of winning the accolade could be affected by a lack of participation in a major international tournament.
This GhanaWeb feature highlights how the AFCON will not have a direct bearing on the 2025 Ballon d’Or award
During the post-match analysis of Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Manchester City on February 23, 2025, on Sky Sports, Carragher asserted that although Mohammed Salah, an Egyptian, excels with Liverpool, the lack of a major tournament for his national team could hinder his chances of winning the 2025 Ballon d’Or.
“I think the problem is that he [Salah] is with Egypt, and he’s probably not playing in a major tournament, or maybe doesn’t have a great chance of winning. I think it’s either the Champions League or a major tournament.
“Normally, the player who excels in that, like Vini Jr. and Mbappe right now, Real Madrid looking really good going for the Champions League. Liverpool will be in that conversation, but right now, Los Blancos are certainly the front-runners,” he said.
However, Carragher’s claim is problematic because the scheduling of the 2025 AFCON will not permit its consideration in the award process.
The Ballon d’Or ceremony has for the past three years been held in October and it is expected that the 2025 edition will be held in October, while this year’s AFCON will be held from December 2025 to January 2026.
This implies that Salah’s chances of winning the Ballon d’Or will not be impacted by Egypt’s performance in the upcoming AFCON.
Aside from the AFCON, there will be no international competitions, such as the Euros or the Copa America, taking place this year.
Salah has been one of the best players this season, scoring 25 goals and making 16 assists in the Premier League. He has played 38 matches across all competitions, scored 30 goals, made 21 assists with a total of 51 goal contributions this season.
His contributions have aided Liverpool in staying at the summit of the table with 64 points and an eleven-point gap.
Another title that will be a major decider in the Ballon d’Or conversation is the Champions League, which Liverpool will contest in the round of sixteen against Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).
Most football pundits believe that Salah winning the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League will secure him the much-coveted football award.
He will become the second African player to win the award after George Weah won it in 1995.
About the Ballon d’Or
The Ballon d’Or is an annual football award presented by French magazine France Football since 1956 to honor the player deemed to have performed the best over the previous season.
Conceived by sports writers Gabriel Hanot and Jacques Ferran, the Ballon d’Or was based exclusively on voting by football journalists until 2006. Originally, it was awarded only to players from Europe and was widely known as the European Footballer of the Year award.
In 1995, the Ballon d’Or was expanded to include all players of any origin who have been active at European clubs. The award became a global prize in 2007, with all professional footballers from around the world being eligible; additionally, coaches and captains of national teams were also given the right to vote, before reverting to just journalists in 2016.
Source: Benjamin Sakey| Contributor
