Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah has been world class ever since he joined the club in 2017 but has never won the Ballon d’Or although Joe Cole believes that may be about to change.
The 2024/25 season has been memorable to say the least.
It began with Arne Slot beginning his tenure as Liverpool manager with many doubting the Dutchman’s chances of hitting the ground running. The reality is that Slot has achieved what nobody expected possible.
Key to his initial success at Anfield has been Mohamed Salah.
The Egyptian is on a generational run right now. Depending on how the season ends, he could cement himself as an all-time Premier League great by winning the Premier League, winning awards for top scorer and assister while breaking countless records in the process.
Salah has 25 goals and 17 assists at the time of writing with nine goals and five assists in his last nine games in all competitions.
So it’s really no surprise that he is the frontrunner to win the Ballon d’Or already.
Mohamed Salah is a victim of the Messi and Ronaldo era, says Joe Cole
The era that Messi and Ronaldo dominated saw many worthy candidates not win a Ballon d’Or as a result of their greatness. The likes of Luis Suarez, Xavi, Neymar and Virgil van Dijk could have won the famous Golden Ball if it were not for the iconic duo dominating for so long.
Mohamed Salah is another but 2025 may well be his year as the Egyptian continues his incredible run of form this season. It is almost inevitable that Salah scores or assists in every game now.
Speaking on TNT Sports, Joe Cole said: “He’ll certainly be in the running. I think the Ballon d’Or is always heavily loaded towards what happens in the Champions League and what happens in the final in particular.
“The only reason he’s not got one in his career is that he’s been in the Messi and Ronaldo era and Liverpool haven’t reached the latter end of the Champions League in recent, recent year. But I think what he’s done in the Premier League he stands on the shoulders of all the giants.
“There’s been a lot of debate this week, your Henry’s, your Cantona’s, your Aguero’s, your Gerrard’s and all these great players. He’s certainly standing shoulder to shoulder with all of them and in the conversation.”
Liverpool are in a commanding position to win the Premier League but if they don’t win the Champions League, it will be a blow to Mo’s chances.
That being said, the Reds have beaten every big side they’ve faced this season, including Real Madrid, Manchester City and Bayer Leverkusen and so if they beat PSG in the Champions League Ro16, it will mean they’ve beaten four of the current league title holders in Europe.
Salah shows no signs of slowing down so Liverpool have a good chance of winning the Premier League, Champions League and the Carabao Cup.
