The Reason Salah Didn’t Win the Ballon d’Or

The 2025 Ballon d’Or was won by France and PSG winger Ousmane Dembele, but Egyptian sensation Mohamed Salah was one of the leading candidates.

Jamie Carragher, a Sky Sports analyst and veteran of Liverpool FC, has finally clarified why Salah was not given the prize, which is considered to be the most important and coveted individual honor in football.

Salah was crucial in helping Liverpool win the Premier League in the 2024–2025 season, although PSG defeated them in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16.

With Dembele playing a key role, PSG went on to win both the French Ligue 1 trophy and the Champions League title. Carragher thinks that Salah lost out on the European championship.

Carragher told The Overlap, “I think the biggest trophies do play a part, whether we like it or not, but I go back to something I said about the African Cup of Nations that obviously caused a big storm at the time.”

Typically, during a World Cup or Euro year, the winner of the event would almost certainly take home the trophy. Thus, I believe that the Champions League is also quite important.

“I believe that if Liverpool defeats Paris Saint-Germain in that match, they might advance to the semifinals, and who knows, he might win! However, I do believe that he most likely would have received it.

In the 2025 Ballon d’Or rankings, Salah came in fourth place after Dembele, Vitinha of PSG, and Lamine Yamal, a youthful phenomenon from FC Barcelona, Portugal, and Spain.

Salah did, however, take home the PFA Players’ Player of the Year, FWA Footballer of the Year, and Premier League Player of the Season awards.