Mbappe snubs Salah as he names who should win Ballon d’Or
Mohamed Salah’s outstanding campaign helped Liverpool win the Premier League title, and he swept up the individual awards.
Salah ended the campaign with the most goals and the most assists in the Premier League, and was also named the Player of the Season.
Liverpool strolled to the title with Salah’s output playing a huge part, and this was his best season yet as he firmly established himself as one of the world’s best players.
However, Salah is seemingly falling behind in the Ballon d’Or race, and fellow candidate Kylian Mbappe has now claimed that someone else should win it.
Mbappe wants Ousmane Dembele to beat Salah to Ballon d’Or
Despite their outstanding league campaign, Liverpool were beaten in the Champions League by Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16, and this could cost Salah dearly in the Ballon d’Or race.
PSG went on to win the whole tournament, beating Aston Villa, Arsenal and Inter Milan en route to glory, and attacker Ousmane Dembele played a vital role.
Speaking to RMC Sport (7 June), Mbappe was asked who he would like to see win the Ballon d’Or, and he named Dembele ahead of Salah as his preferred candidate.
| Player | Appearances | Goals | Assists |
| Mohammed Salah | 52 | 34 | 23 |
“Would I vote for Dembele? Yes. Is there really any need to explain?” he stated.
“We’re talking about [Lamine] Yamal and Dembele, I’m going for Dembele. It’s very clear!”
Salah falls behind in Ballon d’Or race
Liverpool’s Champions League failure may unfortunately set Salah back in the Ballon d’Or race, with Dembele now the frontrunner, given how much influence European competition has over the award.
Barcelona sensation Lamine Yamal is also in the running, but they fell short in the semi-finals as they were beaten by Inter in dramatic circumstances.
Salah’s incredible season meant he was lauded as the best player in England, but on a global scale, Liverpool had to go further in the Champions League to give him a better chance of victory.
He will still hope that his remarkable output keeps him in the running, although Dembele’s 48 goals and assists in 49 games across all competitions, as well as PSG’s treble victory, may still keep him in the lead ahead of the Egyptian.