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Former player Paolo Di Canio has backed Mohamed Salah to win the Ballon d'Or this season. He believes the Liverpool star has been the best player this season, but added that the Champions League could play a huge role in the final decision.
Speaking to FootItalia.com, Di Canio opined that Salah should be the outright winner of the Ballon d'Or if the decision were made on performances so far this season. However, the 56-year-old doubts if the Egyptian will end up winning the award, as Liverpool are out of the UEFA Champions League and the winner of the Ballon d'Or could be decided by who wins the elite competition. He said:
"We know that you need to do something special in different competition and not only in the Premier League. From my point of view, if we stop the season now, of course there is no doubt for me, Salah would win the Ballon d’Or. Golden Ball, Salah easy."
He added:
"But there are still two months left of the season. Champions League, the national team. He also has the problem, well I don’t wanna say problem because he’s proud to be an Egypt player. But it depends on what you do with the national team, right? Euros, World Cup, different competitions. But Champions League makes a difference."
Liverpool were knocked out of the UEFA Champions League this season by Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in the Round of 16. They are out of the FA Cup as well and lost the Carabao Cup final to Newcastle United (2-1) on March 16.
Mohamed Salah backed to win Ballon d'Or by ex-Premier League star
Jamie O’Hara spoke to Grosvenor Sport earlier this year and put his weight behind Mohamed Salah for the Ballon d'Or. He said the Liverpool star was the top pick this season as long as the Reds win the Premier League title. O’Hara said (via GOAL):
"I think Mohamed Salah is nailed on for the Ballon d’Or if Liverpool win the Premier League. Who else is there to even compete with him? People may say Kylian Mbappe, but he’s been getting stick for some of his performances since signing for Real Madrid and he hasn’t been doing it for France. I’ve seen the debate about him playing for Egypt, but AFCON is still a major tournament. Yes, it’s not the World Cup, but it’s still an important competition and he has a chance of going a long way in that."
Liverpool are on top of the Premier League table. They are 12 points clear of second-placed Arsenal, with eight matches left in the season.
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Edited by Parag Jain