Mohamed Salah: Arsene Wenger backs 'exceptional' Liverpool star to compete for Ballon d'Or after beating Manchester City
Published 23/02/2025 at 19:06 GMT
Mohamed Salah was Liverpool's star man yet again as the Premier League leaders further cemented their status as the clear title favourites with a comfortable 2-0 win over Manchester City at the Etihad on Sunday. The Egyptian scored his side's first and provided the assist for the second, and former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was effusive in his praise of the Ballon d'Or contender.
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Arsene Wenger has expressed his belief that Mohamed Salah will be one of the leading contenders for this year's Ballon d'Or award.
The Liverpool forward has been in superb form this season, scoring and assisting again as the Premier League leaders beat Manchester City at the Etihad on Sunday.
That took his tally for the season to 25 goals and 16 assists in the Premier League, and Wenger heaped praise on the Egyptian.
"You wouldn't rule him out," the former Arsenal manager said on beIN SPORTS when asked if Salah could win the Ballon d'Or. "You have [Kylian] Mbappe, certainly, to fight with him, Vinicius [Junior] will fight with him.
"Tonight we see again what we have seen so many times in the modern game: 67% possession for Man City, 2-0 for Liverpool. This is down to people who are a level above, like Salah. He scored the goal and made an assist.
"I read somewhere that he contributed with goals and assists to 31 points for Liverpool this season. You cannot rule him out for any special award – this guy is exceptional."
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Salah, now 32, has enjoyed the most productive season of his career in 2024/25, boasting an output that resembles those of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo at Barcelona and Real Madrid.
And Wenger highlighted Salah's unique ability to improve with age.
"What I love the most in his career: he became better and better every year, more clinical," he added. "He does less quantity today, but he doesn't lose quality, and that shows that he is not only a great talent but also a very intelligent player.
"He has found a good balance between obsession to score goals and giving the ball. We had a period between him and [Sadio] Mane, there were tensions, because everybody tried to score without passing the ball.
"He understands that to be really great he has to contribute and he has done that really well."
Salah's long-term future remains unclear, with his Liverpool contract set to expire in the summer. But that has had no detrimental impact on his performances, and Arne Slot's side are now 11 points clear at the top of the Premier League.
They are next in action against Newcastle at Anfield on Wednesday night – live on TNT Sports and discovery+.
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