Former Arsenal and Barcelona forward Thierry Henry has snubbed Mohamed Salah when naming who he believes is the favourite for the 2025 Ballon d'Or. This comes after, despite boasting 54 goal contributions in just 42 matches in all competitions this season, Salah was dumped out of the Champions League via penalty shootout heartbreak against PSG on Tuesday night.
Salah’s sensational form has propelled Liverpool to a commanding 15-point lead over Arsenal at the top of the Premier League. The 32-year-old leads Erling Haaland by seven goals in the Golden Boot race with 27 strikes and is just three assists shy of the league record of 20, jointly held by Henry and Kevin De Bruyne.
However, history has shown that domestic league success rarely carries significant weight in Ballon d’Or voting. Instead, players who achieve continental or international triumphs are far more likely to claim the award. With that in mind, Henry believes one player is currently better positioned than the Egyptian King to lift the Golden Ball in October.
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Henry Believes Raphinha Is 'Ahead' of Salah in Ballon d'Or Race
The former Leeds United winger is closely followed by three other in-form stars
Henry pointed to Raphinha's success in Europe, with Barcelona reaching the quarter-finals, as well as the fact that Salah and Harry Kane's goal counts have been inflated by penalties, as reasons why the former Leeds United winger is currently leading the race for the Ballon d'Or.
While Raphinha has scored just one penalty in all competitions this season, Salah has netted 11 times from the spot. Henry said, to the surprise of the rest of the CBS Sports panel (watch full segment below):
"Raphinha is ahead for me now, he is ahead because of what he is doing in the Champions League. He has 11 goals in the Champions League. Mo Salah is a great contender for it, Kane is a contender and [Ousmane] Dembele. It depends if you perform in the Champions League, on top of winning your league. Raphinha is on a lot of goals and with only one penalty."
The Frenchman added: "I am not saying that Kane and Salah should not be having penalties, Mo Salah is having a season in the Premier League that we will never see again. I am saying that if a guy has virtually the same amount of goals as you guys scored, without penalties, I am not going to say that is bad what you did – it is outstanding – but this guy I have to talk a bit more about him.
"Raphinha, when people talk about being complete as a striker you need to know about putting on pressure also and defend, and help your full back. And he has it all."
Salah_Raphinha
Salah couldn't hold back his tears after Liverpool’s penalty shootout loss to PSG on Tuesday night, with the focus now shifting to securing the Premier League title and preparing for the League Cup final against Newcastle United on Sunday.
Earlier that evening, Raphinha netted twice as Barcelona breezed into the Champions League quarter-finals with a comfortable win over Benfica, perfectly encapsulating Henry's thought process.
All statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt (correct as of 12/03/2025)