Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher is not backing down from his comments regarding Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah and the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), Afrosport reports.
Carragher has come under fire for his comments after Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday. The former England international, while on Sky Sports, claimed that Salah, who has scored 30 goals and provided 21 assists this season, has been shunned from the Ballon d’Or because of his country, Egypt, and the AFCON not being a “major tournament”.
He said: “I think the problem is the fact he’s with Egypt, and he’s probably not playing in a major tournament as such or maybe got a great chance of winning.
“I think it’s either the Champions League or a major tournament, the player who excels in that, like Vinicius Jr and Kylian Mbappe right now.”
The former Reds’ defender was quickly shut down by fellow pundits Micah Richards and Daniel Sturridge, who pointed out that the AFCON is a major tournament and is on the same level as the European Championship or Copa America.
The 47-year-old, however, did not agree with their responses, gesturing in a funny way to the cameras while mouthing the words “Oh my God.”
After several comments from fans, experts, and ex-footballers, including Rio Ferdinand and former Egypt international Ahmed Elmohamady, Carragher took to social media on Monday to further explain the reasons for his comment.
“The point I was trying to make yesterday was that Mo Salah is at a disadvantage playing for Egypt in terms of him winning the Ballon d’Or,” he wrote on X.
“If Salah had an average season at Liverpool, but won the AFCON and was MVP [most valuable player] I don’t think he would win the Ballon d’Or because I don’t think AFCON carries the weight of other tournaments.
“But if [Kylian] Mbappe had an average season at Real Madrid but won the World Cup or Euros he would still have a great opportunity.
“It’s not just about certain tournaments, [Andriy] Shevchenko, [Robert] Lewandowski were never going to win the World Cup/Euros to help their case for the prize. I don’t think it’s controversial at all really. It’s just a fact.”
Salah’s former club teammate Sadio Mane finished second in the Ballon d’Or rankings in 2022 after leading Senegal to AFCON triumph, but Carragher reiterated that winning the continental title was not the sole reason for his position.
“I know Mane came second a few years back after winning the tournament but that alone wouldn’t have got him to that position,” he continued. “It was Liverpool being two games away from a quadruple that played a big role also.
“It’s not disrespectful if I feel the World Cup/Euros/Champions League are better tournaments. It’s just my opinion when I watch them.
“Saying it wasn’t a major competition was clumsy, but I think most people watching could understand the point I was trying to make.”
He also addressed the look he gave camera and why he’d taken to social media to respond.
“The face I pulled when Micah interjected was nothing to do with the merits of the tournament,” he said. “I just knew as soon as he did what the reaction was going to be! I get a lot people didn’t like what I said and that’s fine.
“I don’t normally respond to things on here with posts like this but I decided to tweet in the end after seeing so many phoneys jumping on the bandwagon and playing to the gallery when they knew what I meant.
“Good luck Mo you little dancer.”
Salah currently leads the race for the European Golden Boot with 25 goals in the Premier League this season. The Egyptian is also the favourite to win the Ballon d’Or but has yet to finish higher than fifth in the rankings.
The 32-year-old was surprisingly omitted from the 30-man shortlist in 2024 and finished 11th in 2023.
