Arsene Wenger names Liverpool star Mo Salah and Real Madrid duo as his favorites to win the Ballon d'Or this year
Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has named Liverpool ace Mohamed Salah and Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior as the favorites to win the 2025 Ballon d'Or. His comments arrived after witnessing Salah inspire the Reds to a 2-0 win over Manchester City in their Premier League clash (February 23).
Salah was named the Player of the Match for Liverpool against Manchester City, scoring a goal and providing an assist for Dominik Szoboszlai. The 32-year-old is arguably the most in-form player in world football right now, having scored 30 goals and provided 21 assists in 38 appearances across competitions this season.
After witnessing the Egyptian King score against Manchester City, Wenger reckons Salah is a serious contender to win the Ballon d'Or this year. He said (via METRO):
"You wouldn’t rule him out [of winning the Ballon d’Or]. You have [Kylian] Mbappe who will certainly fight with him, Vinicius Junior will fight with him. I read that he contributed with his goals and assists, 38 together, to 31 points of Liverpool this season so you cannot rule him out of any special award."
He added:
"This guy is exceptional and what I’ve loved the most in his career is that he became better and better every year. More clinical, he does less quantity today, but he doesn’t lose in quality and that shows that he’s not only a great talent but a very intelligent player."
Wenger also expects the Real Madrid duo of Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior to compete with Salah for the Ballon d'Or. He didn't mention Barcelona's in-form duo of Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski.
Mbappe had a slow start at Real Madrid following his high-profile summer move from Paris Saint-Germain. Despite this, he has had a stellar campaign, accumulating 27 goals and four assists in 38 appearances across all competitions. Meanwhile, after narrowly losing the 2024 Ballon d'Or to Rodri, Vinicius has been decent as well, bagging 17 goals and 12 assists in 33 appearances.
Liverpool ace Mohamed Salah sets 6 records following Manchester City win to strengthen Ballon d'Or credentials
Liverpool winger Mohamed Salah is currently the frontrunner to claim the 2025 Ballon d'Or. The 32-year-old has set six new records following the Reds' 2-0 win over Manchester City to strengthen his claim to win the prestigious award.
Salah became the first star in Premier League history to register more than 40 goal contributions in two different seasons (2024-25 & 2017-18). He also became the first player in Europe's top-five leagues to register 50 goal contributions across all competitions this season.
Moreover, the Egypt skipper became the first star in PL history to score more than 25 goals and register more than 15 assists in a single season, despite still being in February. Following his goal and assist against City, the former Roma star also leveled Lionel Messi's 2014-15 record by scoring and assisting in the same league game 11 times this season.
The rest of Salah's achievements can be viewed below, as reported by Squawka:
