‘He deserves it’ – International boss praying for Liverpool ‘role model’ to triumph in Ballon d’Or | OneFootball

The Ballon d’Or ceremony takes place in Paris tonight, and Liverpool are well represented across the various male categories.

When the candidates for each separate prize were confirmed last month, the Reds had seven nominations in total.

Mo Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Alexis Mac Allister and Florian Wirtz are among the 30-man shortlist for the men’s Ballon d’Or award, with Alisson Becker nominated for the Yachine Trophy, Arne Slot for Men’s Coach of the Year, and LFC for Men’s Club of the Year.

(Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

Egypt coach says Salah ‘deserves’ to win Ballon d’Or

Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan has unsurprisingly made the case for Liverpool’s number 11 to scoop the main prize, something that no Reds player has done since Michael Owen in 2001.

The 59-year-old took to Instagram to state (translated from Arabic): ‘Considering the difficulties he has faced throughout his career, he [Salah] deserves it. Considering the challenges he has overcome, he deserves it. Considering the years of brilliance, excellence, and creativity in the strongest league in the world, he deserves it.

‘It is hard to reach the top, but the real difficulty lies in staying at the top. He has reached the top and remained there for many years, thanks to God first, and to his talent, hard work and determination, becoming a role model for everyone striving for success.

‘Isn’t it time for football, and for those who decide the winner, to do him justice? Our prayers, and the prayers of all Egyptians and all of Salah’s fans around the world, are that Salah will be the winner of the Ballon d’Or… an ultimate crowning of the career of a great player, one who may never be repeated in the history of Egyptian, Arab, African and even world football.’

(Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

Does Salah have a realistic chance of winning the Ballon d’Or?

Hassan’s passionate pleas for Salah to win the men’s Ballon d’Or award will echo the thoughts of many Liverpool fans worldwide who’d love to see the 33-year-old being officially recognised as the world’s best male footballer.

Jamie Carragher has also said in recent months that the Egyptian has ‘a great chance’ to follow Rodri as the winner, and a Sky Sports preview cites the Reds winger as the ‘best hope’ for a current Premier League player to scoop the main prize at tonight’s ceremony.

Alas, Paris Saint-Germain forward Ousmane Dembele is regarded by many bookmakers as the clear favourite for the honour, having provided 43 goal contributions last season in helping his club to win the Champions League for the first time.

Even if Salah is overlooked for the men’s Ballon d’Or award, could there be success for Liverpool in the other categories?

PSG’s European success will likely see them and Luis Enrique emerge triumphant in the club and manager categories respectively, although Alisson could be in with a more than plausible chance of receiving the Yachine Trophy.

While Reds fans will be focused primarily on tomorrow night’s Carabao Cup clash against Southampton, it’d certainly be welcome to see one or more of our representatives at the Ballon d’Or ceremony being named as the best in their respective fields.