Mohamed Salah of Liverpool would find it “difficult” to win the Ballon d’Or the next season, according to Thierry Henry.
For the 2023 edition of the award, in which Lionel Messi won for the eighth time, Salah was just voted in at number eleven.
However, with the season well under way, speculation about the victor of 2024 has already begun. Following Friday night’s broadcast of a list of the current favourites on CBS Sports Golazo, Henry offered his thoughts on why he believes Liverpool’s Egyptian King will not be crowned .
The former Arsenal striker clarified, “I saw Mo Salah on the list. It’s difficult for him in a year of a big [footballing] event, a big tournament.”
“Although you’re going to have the Africa Cup of Nations, people watch the Euros. And on the back of the Euros it’s different, on the back of the World Cup it’s different.”
Salah out of the Ballon d’Or race.
Really, it’s not a negative thing, but we can state with certainty that Salah will not be the Ballon d’Or winner the next year.
He’s constantly in the running, so he might be there somewhere. Ever since moving to Anfield for £34m, the 31-year-old has consistently been in the top 11. Mo is going to have another fantastic year at Liverpool, and people will probably notice that.
However, Henry makes a valid point. International achievements are increasingly being given more weight, just as they were this year.
The fact that Sadio Mane placed second in 2022 is evidence that more attention is being paid to the AFCON, which is held early in the following year. It is good.
However, it would take a tremendous effort from Mo and Egypt to move the Liverpool player to the top of the list given the abundance of European players on the list of favourites.
Salah won’t be at the top of the list the next year for another reason: Liverpool isn’t in the Champions League.
You can put it out of your mind if Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappe, or Harry Kane wins both the Champions League and the European Championship.
These individual prizes, in many opinion, rarely accurately represent the best player of the time and are merely a popularity battle. Nevertheless, it would be good to see Salah receive the credit he so richly deserves. Regretfully, Henry will undoubtedly be correct.
