Lionel Messi, a player for Paris Saint-Germain, predicted that Egyptian Mohamed Salah, the star of Liverpool, would win the Ballon d'Or in the future. At the same time, many Liverpool fans expressed their anger on social media about Salah's ranking, deeming it disrespectful. The Argentine star received the Ballon d'Or for the seventh time on Tuesday, surpassing Polish striker Robert Lewandowski of Bayern Munich, while Egyptian star Mohamed Salah ranked seventh. Salah scored 32 goals for Liverpool in 2021, the same number as Messi, yet he failed to reach the podium, with the third place going to Jorginho of Chelsea, after the Italian won the UEFA Champions League and the European Championship.
After winning the award, Messi stated that Salah would have the chance in the coming years, noting that both Salah and Lewandowski are currently in their best form and will have greater opportunities to win it. Liverpool’s coach Jürgen Klopp expressed his astonishment at Salah's low ranking in the Ballon d'Or voting.
Salah received 121 points compared to Messi's 613, as well as being ranked behind Jorginho, N'Golo Kanté, Karim Benzema, and Cristiano Ronaldo. Klopp commented to the media on Tuesday, saying, “I was surprised by Salah's position in the award, but it’s not in my hands. I saw the voting somewhere.” In response to a reporter’s question, he added, “The journalists voted on it, so it’s your fault if you think he should be ranked better; you need to convince your colleagues, but I am 100% sure that the ranking did not give Salah his due.”
He continued, “The award can always be given to Lionel Messi for his remarkable career, but if Lewandowski doesn’t receive it this time, it will be hard for him to win it again.” Meanwhile, many Liverpool fans took to social media to react to the ranking of their Egyptian star at the Ballon d'Or ceremony, expressing their surprise at Salah's position this year and agreeing that the ranking did not respect Mohamed Salah.
