Mohamed Salah‘s elite type all through final season has earned him a spot on the 2022 Ballon d’Or shortlist, with the Egyptian considered one of six Liverpool gamers nominated.
It has been an eventful yr for Salah, who rode scrutiny over his future at Liverpool to provide a exceptional run of type, with 31 objectives and 16 assists in 51 video games for his membership.
That got here throughout a busy marketing campaign with Egypt, too, with the 30-year-old enjoying 15 occasions for his nation as they reached the Africa Cup of Nations ultimate and a World Cup playoff decider.
Regardless of his greatest efforts, although, Salah and his compatriots had been unsuccessful in each ties, dropping out on the AFCON trophy and a spot at Qatar 2022 to Sadio Mane‘s Senegal.
Salah’s contribution for membership and nation can’t be ignored, and rightly, he has been named on the preliminary 30-man longlist for the Ballon d’Or award.
He’s joined among the many nominees by Mane, who netted 23 objectives and laid on 5 assists in 51 video games for Liverpool, alongside along with his heroics for Senegal, earlier than departing for Bayern Munich.
5 different Liverpool gamers are on the listing, specifically Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez, Fabinho, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Diaz spent the primary half of the season at Porto, serving to them on their method to the Primeira Liga title, earlier than becoming a member of the Reds for £50 million within the winter switch window.
With six objectives and 5 assists within the second half of the season, the Colombian performed an enormous half as Liverpool got here two matches away from finishing an unprecedented quadruple of trophies.
Striker Nunez’s inclusion comes after a 34-goal season with Benfica satisfied Liverpool to make him the costliest participant of their historical past this summer time.
Van Dijk makes the ultimate 30 after a powerful first season again from a long-term knee harm, whereas Fabinho and Alexander-Arnold each performed enormous roles within the Reds’ success in 2021/22.
There’s no spot for Lionel Messi, who misses out on the shortlist for the primary time since 2005, however Man United‘s Cristiano Ronaldo is included.
The 2022 Ballon d’Or shall be offered at a ceremony in Paris on October 17 – a month earlier than the World Cup kicks off – with the Yashin Trophy for greatest goalkeeper, Kopa Trophy greatest under-21 and Ballon d’Or Feminin for greatest feminine participant additionally up for grabs.
Alisson is up for the Yashin Trophy, however will face robust competitors from Actual Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois, who was additionally considered one of three gamers nominated for UEFA’s Males’s Participant of the 12 months award on Friday.
Ballon d’Or 2022 Nominees
Ballon d’Or: Thibaut Courtois (Actual Madrid), Rafael Leao (AC Milan), Christopher Nkunku (RB Leipzig), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Vinicius Jr (Actual Madrid), Bernardo Silva (Man Metropolis), Luis Diaz (Liverpool), Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich), Riyad Mahrez (Man Metropolis), Casemiro (Actual Madrid), Heung-min Son (Tottenham), Fabinho (Liverpool), Karim Benzema (Actual Madrid), Mike Maignan (AC Milan), Harry Kane (Tottenham), Darwin Nunez (Liverpool), Phil Foden (Man Metropolis), Sadio Mane (Bayern Munich), Sebastien Haller (Borussia Dortmund), Luka Modric (Actual Madrid), Antonio Rudiger (Actual Madrid), Cristiano Ronaldo (Man United), Kevin De Bruyne (Man Metropolis), Dusan Vlahovic (Juventus), Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool), Joao Cancelo (Man Metropolis), Kylian Mbappe (PSG), Erling Haaland (Man Metropolis)
Ballon d’Or Feminin: Selma Bacha (Lyon), Fridolina Rolfo (Barcelona), Vivianne Miedema (Arsenal), Lucy Bronze (Barcelona), Sam Kerr (Chelsea), Christiane Endler (Lyon), Lena Oberdorf (Wolfsburg), Kadidiatou Diani (PSG), Catarina Macario (Lyon), Alexia Putellas (Barcelona), Alexandra Popp (Wolfsburg), Aitana Bonmati (Barcelona), Wendie Renard (Lyon), Alex Morgan (San Diego Wave), Beth Mead (Arsenal), Asisat Oshoala (Barcelona), Marie-Antoinette Katoto (PSG), Millie Vibrant (Chelsea), Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit), Ada Hegerberg (Lyon)
Yashin Trophy: Yassine Bounou (Sevilla), Alisson (Liverpool), Thibaut Courtois (Actual Madrid), Ederson (Man Metropolis), Mike Maignan (AC Milan), Edouard Mendy (Chelsea), Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid), Kevin Trapp (Eintracht Frankfurt), Hugo Lloris (Tottenham)
Kopa Trophy: Karim Adeyemi (Dortmund), Jude Bellingham (Dortmund), Eduardo Camavinga (Actual Madrid), Gavi (Barcelona), Ryan Gravenberch (Bayern Munich), Nuno Mendes (PSG), Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich), Josko Gvardiol (RB Leipzig), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen)
