Mohamed Salah confident of 2022 Ballon d’Or win to repeat George Weah feat despite UCL final loss
Ballon d’Or, the award given out to the best player over the course of a year by France Football, started out as a Europe-centric award. It was only later that players from around the globe were included in the nominees’ list.
That is the reason why George Weah’s Ballon d’Or win in 1995 was historic. Then a player for AC Milan, he became the first African player to win the coveted award and remains the only one to do so till date.
And that is why Mohamed Salah‘s push for the Ballon d’Or over the last four years has become all the more important. Speaking in an interview with France Football (h/t Marca in English), the Egypt international said that he wants to achieve what the Liberian legend did some 27 years back.
“I want to win it to join George Weah, the only African. It’s true that I was shocked by my ranking in 2021 (seventh).”
Although it is an award handed out for individual achievement, it won’t be wrong to suggest that a player’s team winning the biggest trophies has aided their chances of winning the gong in the past.
Salah wants Ballon d’Or 2022
Salah recognizes that and admits that the loss to Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League is a disadvantage. However, the current Premier League Golden Boot and Playmaker Award-holder doesn’t want it to overshadow the great year he has had with the club.
“For this year, the defeat against Real Madrid is a disadvantage, even if I played a good game in the final. But it doesn’t cancel out everything I’ve achieved for months. Let’s wait for the vote. And if I’m not Ballon d’Or in 2022, I’ll do everything I can to be the next one.”
Salah won two trophies with Liverpool- the FA Cup and the EFL Cup. Had Aston Villa not squandered a two-goal lead against Manchester City on gameweek 38, the former Chelsea star’s goal could have even won us the title against Wolves.
Even in the UCL final, the 29-year-old winger was electric, especially in the second half of the game. His main contenders for the award would arguably be Karim Benzema and Sadio Mane- given the latter’s AFCON win earlier this year.
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But that was a tournament where Salah made it all the way to the final as well. He has been in and around the biggest trophies this season and his consistency must be reflected in at least a podium finish in this year’s Ballon d’Or award.
