Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo only reason Liverpool great Mohamed Salah not won Ballon d'Or, says Joe Cole
Published 27/02/2025 at 20:25 GMT
Mohamed Salah added another assist to his staggering tally of goal involvements for the Premier League season in Liverpool's 2-0 win over Newcastle on Wednesday. The Reds are now on the brink of a Premier League title, and Joe Cole has predicted Salah will be amongst the frontrunners to win this year's Ballon d'Or. Manchester City midfielder Rodri is the current holder of the prestigious award.
'Messi and Ronaldo era' the reason Salah has not won the Ballon d'Or
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Mohamed Salah will be "in the running" for this year's Ballon d'Or, insisted TNT Sports' expert Joe Cole.
The Liverpool forward made it 42 goal involvements in the Premier League this season with an assist in Wednesday night's 2-0 victory over Newcastle at Anfield.
And Cole - speaking before West Ham's clash with Leicester City, live on TNT Sports and discovery+ - backed Salah to be amongst the frontrunners for football's biggest individual prize.
"He'll certainly be in the running," he said. "The Ballon d'Or's always very heavily loaded towards what happens in the Champions League and what happens in the final in particular.
"He is in the running - the only reason he's not got one in his career so far is he's been in the Messi and Ronaldo era, and Liverpool haven't reached the latter end of the Champions League in recent years.
"What he's done in the Premier League, he stands on the shoulders with all the giants. There's been a lot of debate this week, your Henrys, your Cantonas, your Agueros, Gerrards - he's standing shoulder-to-shoulder with them and in the conversation."
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Highlights: Liverpool down Newcastle to take another step towards title
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'They've been faultless'
Salah's goals and assists have powered Liverpool to the brink of the Premier League title, with 13 points now separating the league leaders and second-place Arsenal.
And Cole suggested there would be no nervousness in the Liverpool camp, hailing manager Arne Slot for overseeing a "faultless" campaign so far.
"Everyone else can talk about 'have they done it, have they not done it?' The players just carry on doing their jobs, they carry on pushing forwards," Cole said.
"I've been in that situation where you're points clear: you're the calmest, out of all the fanbase, the owners and everyone. You're just doing your job.
"They've been faultless. Arne Slot, the job he's done, I don't think he's getting enough praise for it - they've been absolutely outstanding."
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'It's not luck' - McManaman credits Slot's squad management for lack of injuries
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Steve McManaman was equally effusive after Liverpool's win over Newcastle, highlighting the air of invincibility surrounding Slot's side.
"They know what jobs they need to do," McManaman said. "Anybody who comes on the pitch, whether [Curtis] Jones starts, whether [Cody] Gakpo starts, they will put in those types of performances. They are that good at the moment.
"They can rely on 15, 16, 17 players, and as soon as anybody leaves the pitch, someone enters the pitch, the intensity doesn't drop. It rises, it goes again.
"When you have that level of performance, that you can trust every single week, if they go out and do that performance again, they'll get a result.
"That's what they're showing at the moment. They're almost 1-0 up before they come on the pitch, they're that confident, and the fans are that confident in them."
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