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Former Arsenal midfielder Mohamed Elneny has backed Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah to win the Ballon d'Or this year. The Egyptian forward was in sizzling form for the Reds last season, scoring 34 goals and setting up 23 more from 52 games.
Salah's efforts were crucial to the Merseyside club's Premier League triumph in the 2024-25 campaign. The 33-year-old's future was subject to speculation at the tail end of last season, but he signed a new deal with Liverpool in April.
Speaking to Al Emarat Al Youm, Elneny insisted that Salah is the role model for Egyptian and Arab players.
"I hope Salah wins the Ballon d’or. He's role model for Egyptian & Arab players in terms of commitment & professionalism," said Elneny.
Salah is among the 30-man shortlist for this year's awards. The nominees also include Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) forward Ousmane Dembele, and Barcelona's Lamine Yamal.
Dembele won a historic treble with the Parisians, finishing the campaign with 35 goals and 16 assists from 53 games. Yamal, meanwhile, registered 18 goals and 25 assists from 55 outings in all competitions, securing a domestic treble with the Catalans.
Both players are among the favorites for the 2025 Ballon d'Or, although there are also other contenders in the race, including Mohamed Salah. Apart from winning the Premier League, the Egyptian also secured the Golden Boot and finished as the league's top scorer.
Salah's Liverpool teammates Virgil van Dijk and Alexis Mac Allister have also been nominated for the coveted awards this year. The ceremony will be held at the Theatre du Chatelet, Paris, on September 22.
Has a Liverpool player won the Ballon d'Or before?
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Michael Owen
Michael Owen is the only Liverpool player to have won the Ballon d'Or in the club's history. The Englishman won the award in 2001, finishing with 176 points, ahead of Real Madrid's Raul and Bayern Munich's Oliver Kahn.
Interestingly, he became the fourth English national to win the acclaimed prize after Stanley Matthews (1956), Sir Bobby Charlton (1966), and Kevin Keegan, who won in 1978 and 1979. Interestingly, no player from the country has won the Ballon d'Or since.
Meanwhile, only three Reds players have secured a podium finish since Owen. Steven Gerard finished third in the rankings in 2005, as did Fernando Torres in 2008. The last Liverpool man to secure a podium finish was Virgil van Dijk, when he finished second behind Lionel Messi in 2019.
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Deepungsu Pandit
Deepungsu is a veteran football journalist who has been covering daily transfer roundups and news for over seven years at Sportskeeda. He has written more than 9500 articles for the website, and has garnered close to 21 million reads.
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