As he tearfully left the Anfield pitch on Tuesday night following Liverpool’s penalty shootout defeat to Paris Saint-Germain, some speculated that it wasn’t just the Reds’ Champions League hopes which had just ended.
The Egyptian’s hopes of becoming just the second African player to win the Ballon d’Or would appear to be hindered by his team bowing out of the biggest tournament in club football prior to the quarter-final stage, esepcially in a year without any major international competitions.
For those who play in a BC Game casino and like to keep an eye out for a smart sporting bet, the odds on the 32-year-old scooping the coveted individual honour will surely have lengthened this week, and he might still be a more than viable candidate to take the accolade.
Salah has had an incredible season
Let’s start with the obvious – Salah is legitimately in the conversation when discussing the best players in the world right now, and his extraordinary goalscoring returns show it.
In 42 games for Liverpool so far this season, he’s scored 32 goals and set up another 22, amounting to a whopping 54 goal contributions. If he plays in all 10 of the Reds’ remaining matches this term and maintains those averages, he’ll end the campaign with 40 goals and 27 assists (67 G/A in total).
It’s one thing for a striker playing in a league outside Europe’s ‘big 5’ to accrue those numbers (hat tip to Viktor Gyokeres here). It’s another for them to do that in what’s widely regarded as the foremost domestic division in world football and also in the Champions League.
Plus, although Salah will miss out on the biggest European prize of the season, he’s still well on track to claim a second Premier League title, and – just like in 2020 – Liverpool look set to take the crown in emphatic fashion.
Winning Champions League isn’t essential for Ballon d’Or triumph
As for the school of thought that winning the Champions League in any given year is a prerequisite for scooping the Ballon d’Or…well it isn’t!
In fact, since Luka Modric deservedly claimed the award in 2018, only one of the subsequent winners also lifted the biggest trophy in European club football in the same year (Karim Benzema in 2022).
Lionel Messi has won it three times since the Croatian’s triumph but never ascended the Champions League podium in that time, although finally lifting the World Cup with Argentina isn’t exactly a consolation prize!
Last year it was Rodri who got his hands on the Ballon d’Or as Manchester City retained the Premier League but bowed out in the quarter-finals on the European stage – not wholly dissimilar to Salah’s probable fate with Liverpool this season.
Granted, it was the Spaniard’s exploits in his nation’s Euro 2024 triumph which realistically tipped the scales away from Vinicius Junior, but the point still stands – it doesn’t require a Champions League winner’s medal in a given year to be recognised as the world’s best footballer.
If the Egyptian ends the season strongly and the Reds lift the Premier League title, there’s no reason to rule him out of the running as Rodri’s successor on the Ballon d’Or roll of honour.
