Overview

• Ousmane Dembélé won the 2025 Ballon d'Or ahead of Lamine Yamal and Vitinha, with Mohamed Salah finishing fourth, the best placement of his career after previous fifth-place finishes in 2019 and 2022.
• Jamie Carragher reiterated that success in the biggest competitions sways voters and argued Salah would have had a stronger case had Liverpool advanced past Paris Saint‑Germain.
• Liverpool were knocked out by PSG in the Champions League round of 16 on penalties at Anfield, where Salah was the only Liverpool player to convert as Curtis Jones and Darwin Núñez missed.
• Salah produced 34 goals and 23 assists in 2024–25 and helped Liverpool win the Premier League, underscoring the tension between individual output and team trophies in the award.
• Supporters voiced frustration over the outcome, and Carragher likened Salah’s situation to Thierry Henry’s peak years without a Ballon d'Or, highlighting a recurring pattern in voting priorities.