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A former Liverpool striker believes it was politics that denied Mohamed Salah the Ballon d’Or. Salah finished in fourth place at the ceremony held last month at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris. PSG’s Ousmane Dembele took home the honours.
Dembele finished ahead of Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal as well s his PSG team-mate midfielder Vitinha. The Egyptian was not part of the Liverpool contingent present at the ceremony with PSG dominating the night.
PSG’s treble win did help them clinch the ‘Men’s Club of the Year’ award however there might have been politics involved in Salah’s snub.
Quiz: Can you name these 10 Liverpool players from the 2000s?
Politics denied Mohamed Salah the Ballon d’Or
Ryan Babel believes was denied the 2025 edition of the award due to ‘political reasons’. Speaking to 365scores, Babel questioned the reasons behind the loss.
“I don’t know why Mohamed Salah didn’t win the Ballon d’Or. Maybe he lost it for political reasons?”, hinting towards Salah’s activism.
“But in my personal opinion, he really deserves it, based on what he has done with the team in the past period.”
Salah scored 34 goals in all competitions last season, including 31 in the Premier League as Liverpool won a record equaling 20th first division league title.
Barcelona star can join Salah at Anfield
Liverpool are currently not in the market for a midfielder after buying Florian Wirtz in the summer. However Babel feels a fellow Dutchman can be the perfect fit at Anfield.
“I think Frenkie de Jong is a Barcelona midfielder who can add a lot to Liverpool, he’s a world-class player, and any team will be lucky to have him, I hope to see De Jong with Liverpool one day.”
Babel scored the winning goal for the Liverpool Legends on Saturday as they beat their Chelsea counterparts 1-0 at Stamford Bridge in the LFC Foundation Friendly.
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