Mohamed Salah given clear Ballon d'Or verdict as Liverpool star compared to Arsenal icon

Jamie Carragher reckons Mohamed Salah likely would have finally won the Ballon d'Or this year if Liverpool had triumphed over Paris Saint-Germain in last season's Champions League. Instead, the Reds went out at the round of 16 stage following a penalty shootout at Anfield.

Salah was the only Liverpool player to convert their penalty, while Curtis Jones and Darwin Nunez missed their spot kicks. Ousmane Dembele bagged PSG's third, with Desire Doue, Goncalo Ramos and Vitinha also finding the back of the net.

The former and latter were among just three who ranked higher than Salah in the 2025 Ballon d'Or ranking, with Lamine Yamal sandwiched in second place and Doue landing in 14th. His fourth-place finish is his highest yet, having come fifth in 2019 and 2022.

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Carragher has compared Salah's situation and Thierry Henry's failure to win the prestigious award. The French striker won the Onze d'Or, awarded by French magazine Onze Mondial, twice in 2003 and 2006, but fell short of France Football's version on both occasions.

Henry came second to Pavel Nedved in the former, who later admitted, "I don't know how I beat Thierry Henry or Zinedine Zidane."

The forward also trailed behind Fabio Cannavaro and Gianluigi Buffon in third after Italy's World Cup victory in 2006.

Carragher sees similarities between the two scenarios. "I think from 2000 to 2005, there was no one who could touch Thierry [Henry]," he commented on , "a little bit like Salah over the last few years at Liverpool.

"But it's not voted for over a period of years; it's voted on that season. I'm a Liverpool fan, I would love to have seen Salah win it, almost for what he's done for Liverpool, his career, and African football.

"But Dembele was always going to win it. And we're not surprised, are we, that Dembele won it because he's had a great season and [won] the Champions League."

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