Everyone’s favorite football controversy was sparked when Lionel Messi (unsurprisingly) took home his eighth Ballon d’Or at Monday night’s awards ceremony in Paris.Of the 29 candidates for the men’s award in 2023, only one was a Liverpool player:
Mohamed Salah. The 31-year-old, who has been a finalist every year since moving to Anfield in 2017, was ranked 11th in a global journalists’ poll by France Football. However, after poor performances at home and in Europe last season, Liverpool’s presence was minimal in this year’s countdown of the best men’s players.Salah’s sole nomination was a major change from 2022, which featured six players from Jurgen Klopp and recently departed Liverpool legend Sadio Mane, who finished second in the voting after winning the AFCON. Liverpool’s players in the Klopp era were generally no strangers to the Ballon d’Or shortlist. But which players in the current squad have been nominated and who are at the top of the polls? The Liverpool captain finished second to Messi in the voting for the 2019 award after winning the Champions League.
The centre-back was named UEFA Player of the Year but lost out on the Ballon d’Or winner to the then Barcelona star. He remains the only defender to finish in the top three since Fabio Cannavaro won the award in 2006. Liverpool’s Premier League and European scoring record have broken the top five twice, but it was disappointing that they were not ranked higher up.Had things been different in 2022, he would have been in contention for the award as Liverpool won a historic treble and Egypt chased AFCON glory. Owen narrowly beat Real Madrid forward Raul to become the fourth Briton to win the award. Stanley Matthews (1956), Bobby Charlton (1966) and Keegan (1978, 1979) received the award.
No British player has lifted a trophy since.Liverpool legends Kenny Dalglish, Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres, Van Dijk and Mane (although he has left Anfield until the 2022 awards) have been shortlisted in the top three Ballon d’Or categories for their achievements.
