On the 30 person men’s shortlist for the 2023 Ballon d’Or that was revealed on Wednesday, there was only one Liverpool player.
That person? Mohamed Salah—you guessed it, of course.
Liverpool’s number 11 maintained his outstanding streak of nominations for football’s most prestigious individual accolade, earning his fifth consecutive nod. If the event hadn’t been canceled in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic, it might have been six.
In fact, ever since moving to Anfield in 2017, the Reds’ all-time Premier League goalscorer has been a finalist.
BALLON D’OR RECORD OF MOHAMED SALAH
Salah is rewarded annually, but despite this, he has never stood on the podium for the ceremony. According to an invited group of international writers from France Football, his highest rankings were sixth in 2019 and 2022.
2018 – 6th
2019 -5th
2021 – 7th
2022 – 5th
Which Liverpool players, though, have raised the golden ball to be named the world’s finest player whereas Salah has never done so?
WHO FROM LIVERPOOL HOLDS THE BALLON D’OR?
Even though Kevin Keegan won consecutive awards soon after leaving Anfield, only one player has won the Ballon d’Or while playing for Liverpool.
The former striker, who was only 22 at the time, had a standout year in which he scored 31 goals and was a key player in a storied triple for Gerard Houllier’s team.
Among his season’s high points were Owen’s historic late brace against Arsenal in the FA Cup final and his hat-trick in England’s 5-1 victory over Germany.
Owen became just the fourth Englishman to win the trophy following Stanley Matthews (1956), Bobby Charlton (1966), and Keegan (1978, 1979), just defeating Real Madrid striker Raul to the honor.
Since then, 22 years have passed without a British player winning the trophy.
WHO FROM LIVERPOOL MADE THE TOP THREE BALLON D’OR SELECTION?
Prior to Owen receiving the award, Liverpool icon Kenny Dalglish, who scored 20 goals across all competitions while helping Bob Paisley’s team win the First Division and League Cup double in 1983, finished second to Michel Platini in the Ballon d’Or rankings.
Naturally, Steven Gerrard was on the podium in 2005 after the “Miracle of Istanbul,” placing third behind Ronaldinho in first place and Frank Lampard in second.
Three years later, in 2008, Fernando Torres also placed third, following his game-winning goal for Spain in the final of the Euros and a breakthrough campaign at Anfield. The forward unavoidably lost out to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo for the trophy.
Virgil van Dijk most recently finished second in 2019 after the Reds’ most recent
Sadio Mane placed second in the voting in 2022 despite having already departed Liverpool by the time of the event. He had excelled for both club and country as Liverpool advanced to the Champions League final, won a domestic cup double, and Senegal won the Africa Cup of Nations.
PLAYERS FROM LIVERPOOL AWARDED THE YASHIN AND KOPA TROPHY
The Yashin Trophy, named for legendary Russian goalkeeper Lev Yashin, is given to the year’s best goalkeeper, while the Kopa Trophy, named for Real Madrid and France star Raymond Kopa, is given to the year’s best player under the age of 21. Both awards are relatively new additions to France Football’s plethora of honors, having both been introduced in 2019.
Liverpool, on the other hand, has never had a champion (or even a podium finisher) during
THE BALLON D’OR IS WHEN?
The Ballon d’Or ceremony for this year will be held at Paris’ Théâtre du Châtelet on Monday, October 30.
