Jamie Carragher was convinced England had a Ballon d'Or-worthy player as recently as 2019. The defender-turned-pundit went as far as saying the Three Lions could boast a player destined to take over the mantle as one of the top players in world football from Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Many players have tried and failed to replace the legendary duo at the top of the football mountain, from Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Franck Ribery to Neymar. None have succeeded.
EPL_Ballon d'Or 2025 Power Rankings Related
Ballon d'Or 2025 Power Rankings
The race for the 2025 Ballon d'Or award is heating up with Raphinha and Ousmane Dembele among the front-runners.
In fact, Carragher even thought Neymar had been surpassed six years ago by an unexpected Englishman. The Brazilian was destined to be the greatest his nation has produced since 2005 Ballon d'Or winner Ronaldinho and 2007's best player Kaka. He never reached those heights and dropped down the pecking order in the eyes of Carragher while still in his 20s.
Jamie Carragher on Raheem Sterling's Ballon d'Or Prospects
'I now rate Sterling above Neymar'
Speaking glowingly of Raheem Sterling, whom he lined up alongside 21 times at Liverpool, Carragher explained how he was one of the top players in his position on the planet. The retired England international wrote in his Telegraph column:
"He [Sterling] is now in the top five or six best attacking players in the world, in that group just below Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. I wrote recently that he and Sadio Mane are the best left-sided players out there. I now rate Sterling above Neymar."
Neymar had gone from being part of the greatest front three in football history alongside Messi and Luis Suarez at Barcelona to being the most expensive player of all time. His blockbuster switch to Paris Saint-Germain didn't accelerate his rise to the top of the sport, but rather killed his momentum.
Jamie Carragher Related
Jamie Carragher Names Player He Believes Will Win 2025 Ballon d’Or
Jamie Carragher predicts the 2025 Ballon d'Or winner, with the likes of Vinicius Jr, Mohamed Salah and and Lamine Yamal likely to be in contention.
By 2019, Carragher felt Sterling - who was in the middle of an extremely fruitful spell at Manchester City - had moved past the tricky Brazilian and was on the same level as Liverpool's Sadio Mane. His former Reds colleague continued: "His ambition, alongside Kylian Mbappe, should be to fill the post-Messi and Ronaldo void once they retire.
Carragher then put out the brave statement that he thought Sterling would be in the mix to win the Ballon d'Or. Tipping the English winger as a contender for the biggest individual accolade in football, he stated:
"He is a potential Ballon d’Or winner over the next four or five years, the current upward trajectory destined to make Sterling a global superstar."
Statistics in this article are courtesy of Transfermarkt. Correct as of 12-07-25.