Want to win the Ballon d'Or and join George Weah as only Africans, admits Mohamed Salah
Mohamed Salah has reiterated his desire of securing the prestigious Ballon d’Or award this year and hopes to join African icon George Weah as part of an exclusive club of African players who have won the award. The Egyptian was in sensational form for Liverpool during the recently concluded season.
Mohamed Salah signed for Liverpool in the summer of 2017 and has gone on to cement his status as one of the best attackers in the world since his arrival in England. The Egyptian was instrumental for the Reds this season in their quest for a historic quadruple but fell short of the final hurdle as they lost the Premier League title and Champions League trophy to Manchester City and Real Madrid respectively.
Despite the underwhelming end to mark the final few weeks of the footballing calendar, Salah scored 31 goals and registered 16 assists across all competitions to mark a milestone season in his playing career. The Egyptian skipper’s marvelous performances have made him one of the favorites to lift the Ballon d’Or award at the end of the year.
The 29-year-old had expressed his frustration at finishing in seventh position in last year’s ranking although the Egyptian admitted that hopes to have better luck this time around as he looks to claim the prestigious award.
“I want to win it to join George Weah, the only African. It's true that I was shocked by my ranking in 2021. For this year, the [Champions League] defeat against Real Madrid is a disadvantage, even if I played a good game in the final. But it doesn't cancel out everything I've achieved for months. Let's wait for the vote. And if I'm not Ballon d'Or winner in 2022, I'll do everything I can to be the next one,” Salah told France Football.