Mohamed Salah is on course for his best season ever, and as such, talk surrounding the Liverpool winger winning the Ballon d’Or has increased.
The Egyptian international is set to scoop up the Premier League Golden Boot and Playmaker award with Salah recently breaking two more Liverpool records in a season where the 32-year-old just can’t seem to stop making history.
With the likes of Theo Walcott backing Salah to win the Ballon d’Or, the thought of anyone even competing with the Liverpool superstar feels crazy, even with the Reds now out of the UEFA Champions League.
Yet Liverpool now appear to be interested in a player who Thierry Henry has backed to rival Salah for the biggest individual honour in football.
READ MORE: Thierry Henry shares why he now has ‘respect’ for two Liverpool players after PSG loss
Photo by Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Photo by Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Liverpool monitoring FC Barcelona superstar Raphinha
According to CaughtOffside, Liverpool are one of many Premier League sides keeping tabs on Raphinha, who just like Salah is on course to enjoy his best season ever having exploded into life under Hansi Flick at Barcelona.
And for Henry, Raphinha’s performances this season coupled with the Brazilian international not needing penalties to bulk out his goalscoring stats makes the Barcelona star a favourite for the Ballon d’Or, despite Salah’s record-breaking antics this season.
Raphinha’s 2024/25 Barcelona stats Games played Goals Assists
La Liga 26 13 9
Copa del Rey 3 1 4
Supercopa 2 2 1
UEFA Champions League 10 11 5
Total 41 27 19
Henry said: “Raphinha is on a lot of goals with only one penalty [in the Champions League]. I’m not saying Kane shouldn’t be having a penalty and Mo Salah is having a season in the Premier League that we will never see again.
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“I’m saying if a guy has virtually the same amount of goals as you guys score without penalties, I’m not going to say that’s bad, it’s not bad, it’s outstanding, but this guy then, I have to talk a bit more about him.”
"Raphinha is ahead, with the Ballon d'Or."
Thierry Henry believes the Barcelona star is an early favorite to take home the prestigious award 👇 pic.twitter.com/6t6V4meq0J
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) March 11, 2025
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Mohamed Salah is still the favourite for the Ballon d’Or
Raphinha is enjoying the season of a lifetime with Barcelona, with the former Leeds United finally finding his feet in Catalonia after struggling for the past few seasons after joining for £55m from the now-Championship side.
Yet when it comes to the Ballon d’Or race, Salah is still the clear favourite for the award, with the Liverpool winger set for the greatest-individual season in Premier League history whilst leading the Reds to the title itself.
Although Liverpool’s early exit in Europe might play into the voting process, Salah currently looks like a lock for the Ballon d’Or, and the winger more than deserves the award after everything the attacker has managed under Arne Slot this campaign.