The Liverpool boss believes Mohamed Salah should have been higher up on the final standings of the Ballon d’Or.
Lionel Messi won the 2021 Ballon d’Or on Monday. The Argentine icon defeated Robert Lewandowski in a tight race to win his seventh award.
However, the result of this year’s award received widespread backlash from a host of footballing figures. Iker Casillas, Lothar Matthaus, and Toni Kroos publicly criticized the award for the rankings.
Lewandowski was the favourite to win the award for his incredible individual stats. However, Messi clinched the Ballon d’Or for ending Argentina’s 28-year trophy drought by leading to the Copa America.
Mohamed Salah was also one of the top favourites to win the award. However, the Egyptian star finished seventh despite his top-class performances for Liverpool this season.
In a post-match interview before Liverpool’s match against Everton on Wednesday, Klopp spoke about the Ballon d’Or rankings.
He said (via TeamTalk): “I saw the vote somewhere, but don’t ask me, it’s your fault. You are the journalists.
“If you think he should be higher up, then you have to convince your colleagues.
“I’m really not sure what it is about 100 per cent, I think that you can always give it to Lionel Messi for the career he has, for the footballer he is.
“But if you don’t give it to Robert Lewandowski this time then it’s quite tricky to get it at all. Yes, Mo definitely should have been higher up.”
Salah will participate in this year’s Africa Cup of Nations in January. It is not Klopp’s favourite tournament, but it could be decisive for Salah’s chances of winning the Ballon d’Or next year.
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