Salah is aiming to emulate Weah in his Ballon d'Or bid as the Liverpool star plans his response to his team's shocking seventh-place finish
Mohamed Salah has expressed his surprise at finishing seventh in the 2021 Ballon d'Or vote, but the Liverpool superstar remains determined to win the Golden Ball and emulate fellow African icon George Weah's achievements.
A talismanic presence at Anfield, he has scored 156 goals in the last five seasons, winning three Premier League Golden Boots and a PFA Player of the Year award, but he has yet to be named the best player in the world.
That is a situation that the 29-year-old forward hopes to change in the near future, with Salah eager to follow in the footsteps of his idol, of former AC Milan striker Weah by landing the most prestigious of individual prizes – with a Liberian icon making history when he topped that poll in 1995
Will Salah take home the Ballon d'Or?
After falling down the pecking order in 2021, with Lionel Messi winning his seventh Ballon d'Or of his incredible career, Salah has told France Football of his ambitions for future seasons: "I want to win it to join George Weah, the only African."
True, I was taken aback by my ranking in 2021. "The [Champions League] defeat against Real Madrid is a disadvantage for this year, even if I played a good game in the final," he says, "but it doesn't cancel out everything I've achieved for months." Let us now await the vote. And if I don't win the Ballon d'Or in 2022, I'll do everything I can to be the next one.”
Salah did help Liverpool win the FA Cup and Carabao Cup in 2021-22, but Jurgen Klopp's team was beaten to the Premier League title by Manchester City before falling to Real Madrid in the Champions League final.
What is Salah's best Ballon d'Or finish?
Salah scored 31 goals for Liverpool in the 2020-21 season before matching that total last season, keeping the Reds in contention for more major trophies.
In the latest Ballon d'Or vote, he finished behind N'Golo Kante (fifth) and Cristiano Ronaldo (sixth).
A Merseyside fan favorite who has yet to commit to a new contract beyond the summer of 2023 has failed to finish inside the top three of any Golden Ball poll.
He had to settle for sixth place in 2018, despite scoring 44 goals in his debut season at Anfield, but he set a personal best in 2019 by finishing fifth.
Salah had another productive season at club level, but he is unlikely to break his Ballon d'Or duck in 2022.
That's because Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema is still a strong favorite to win the title in October after scoring 44 goals for the Blancos in 2021-22 and leading them to La Liga and Champions League triumphs.
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