Liverpool star Mohamed Salah, who guided the Reds to the Premier League title last season, finished 4th in the Ballon d’Or rankings this week.
The Egyptian attacker finished behind winner Ousmane Dembele, second placed Lamine Yamal and third placed Vitinha, Dembele’s teammate at Paris Saint-Germain.
Liverpool fans were upset with the outcome of the awards and felt it was the year when Salah deserved to win the biggest individual award in football.
Perhaps this was Salah’s best chance to win the award, considering the season he had with Arne Slot’s team.
Salah had 34 goals and 23 assists last season and it was his best personal season since his move to the Reds but still it was not enough to win the Ballon d’Or for him.
Football pundit Jamie Carragher feels that not winning the Champions League played a role in Dembele winning the award and Salah not winning it.
Speaking on The Overlap, the former Liverpool defender said:
“I think I go back to something I said something about Salah, it obviously caused a big storm at the time about the African Cup of Nations.
“But I do feel that whether we like it or not, the biggest trophies play a part. So normally around a World Cup or a Euro year, whoever is the player of the tournament more often than not would probably get the trophy.
“I think the Champions League does play a big part. I think if Liverpool beat Paris Saint-Germain in that game, Liverpool maybe get to the semi, maybe win who knows?
“He probably gets it.”
The biggest tournaments play a huge part in players winning such individual competitions and we have seen that in the past.
Whether it was Luka Modric winning it the year Real Madrid won the Champions League and Croatia played the World Cup final or it was Lionel Messi who won it when Argentina won the World Cup.
The domestic league is a huge bonus but the bigger competitions, like the World Cup or the Euro, or the Champions League plays a huge role.
Dembele won that with PSG and he had a crucial role for his team throughout the tournament.
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