Mohamed Salah has once again been nominated for the Ballon d’Or and he has revealed what it would mean to win the award tonight.
If any current Premier League player deserves to be recognised for their achievements, it is Mohamed Salah. The sensational winger has consistently been one of the best performing players in England for years. Even in the seasons where he has not been at his best, the Egyptian has still been a key player for Liverpool.
Salah’s stats are truly incredible. In fact, it is rare to find a season where he did not hit double digits for both goals and assists. It is no wonder the 33-year-old has won the Golden Boot-Playmaker double twice and became the first player to register 40 goal involvements in two different Premier League seasons.
Salah is quite rightly in contention to win the Ballon d’Or, but it is not an achievement he ever thought he could possibly achieve as a young boy.
He told Ballon d’Or: “I just want to win it [the award] for my people. That thing is just always stuck in my head. I think it wasn’t in my head when I was that young because when you play in Egypt in the streets, you wouldn’t see yourself going to win the Ballon d’Or.”
Salah would continue not to see himself as a future Ballon d’Or winner, but this changed when he moved to Liverpool and took his game to the next level.
He continued: “The first time it triggered something in me was when my agent told me I would be able to make it, I started to really think about it in Liverpool, not in Rome.”
The five-time Liverpool player of the year is determined to win the Ballon d’Or both for himself and those close to him, but regardless of what happens he is proud of his achievements.
“If I win it, it would be great. If I don’t win it I think my career will also be very good. But just like that image in my head, always I have it like, I just want to win it for my people. That thing is always stuck in my head.”
Alexis Mac Allister, Virgil van Dijk and Florian Wirtz[are alongside Salah on the Ballon d’Or shortlist. Van Dijk finished as the runner-up to Lionel Messi in 2019. Allison Becker is in contention to win the Yashin Trophy for best men’s goalkeeper, Arne Slot is up for the Johan Cruyff Trophy awarded to the best manager and Liverpool are on the club of the year shortlist.
The Ballon d’Or ceremony takes place in Paris tonight and begins at 7pm BST.
