Gareth Bale overlooked Mohamed Salah when predicting the next Ballon d’Or winner.
On Sunday afternoon, Salah once again proved decisive by scoring one goal and assisting another, leading Liverpool to a 2-0 victory over Manchester City in the Premier League.
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As a result, Liverpool now enjoy an 11-point lead at the top of the table ahead of Arsenal, who suffered a surprising defeat to West Ham United on Saturday. ..Continue Reading
Salah has been instrumental in Liverpool’s push for the Premier League title, with 25 goals and 16 assists in 27 appearances.
After the match, Sky Sports pundit and former Reds star Daniel Sturridge said that Salah must be considered a contender for the 2025 Ballon d’Or.
He said: “We’re talking Ballon d’Or now. If we’re not talking Ballon d’Or with Mohamed Salah then it’s getting out of hand. We have to start putting him that conversation now and saying, I don’t even know if he’s had a top five vote or a top three vote yet.”
Earlier in the campaign, former Madrid and Wales star Bale snubbed Salah when he was asked to pick his 2025 Ballon d’Or winner.
When asked by former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand back in November 2024: “Who wins the next Ballon d’Or?”, Bale replied: “[Kylian] Mbappe.”
A stunned Ferdinand simply said: “Wow.”
Sturridge was not the only one tipping Salah for the big award, Arsene Wenger added: “He scored the goal and made an assist, I read somewhere he contributed, with his goals and assists, to 31 points of Liverpool this season.
“You cannot rule him out for any special award, this guy is exceptional. What I love the most in his career [is] he became better and better every year. More clinical, he does less quantity [at City] but he doesn’t lose in quality.”
Wenger added: “What I like in his career, in his development, he has found a good balance between obsession to score goals and giving the ball.
“You know we had the period between him and Mane, there were tensions because everybody tried to score without passing the ball, and he understands that to be really great he is also to contribute. He’s done that extremely well.”
Salah and Liverpool will be back in Premier League action on Wednesday when they face Newcastle United at Anfield.
