Thierry Henry, Jamie Carragher and Micah Richards agree with predictions for next Ballon d’Or winner

Thierry Henry, Jamie Carragher and Micah Richards agree that Mohamed Salah should be on course to win this year’s Ballon d’Or if he continues his magnificent form through to the end of the season. Salah has played arguably the finest football of his entire career since Arne Slot took over the reins from Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool last summer, with the Egyptian racking up 21 goals and 12 assists in 23 league appearances this term.

The talismanic 32-year-old has also notched three goals and four assists in the Champions League to help assert the Reds as the bookmakers’ favourites to be crowned European champions for what would be a seventh time. And while there remains uncertainty over Salah’s long-term future at Anfield, he hasn’t shown any sign that it could bleed onto the pitch and affect his performances. He will no doubt have been disappointed not to have been able to come on and influence the game last weekend, though, as Plymouth dumped Liverpool out of the FA Cup to end all talk of a historic quadruple.

With eight trophies to his name, Salah is among Liverpool’s most decorated players of the modern game, there is one prize the forward is yet to get his hands on – and that’s the Ballon d’Or. Twice Salah has finished fifth in the Ballon d’Or vote, in 2019 and 2022, but the forward is considered among the frontrunners to lift the prestigious award this time around. In the CBS Sports studio on Tuesday night, Arsenal icon Henry, Liverpool legend Carragher and former Manchester City defender Richards all picked Salah as the man to finally come out on top in October – 12 months on from Rodri’s crowning moment.

Carragher. ‘Mohamed Salah.’. ‘I’m with Jamie, yeah. ‘If he carries on like that, yeah. If he carries on like that.’. Richards. ‘He [Salah] is my mate but maybe Vinicius…. ‘Yeah, probably Salah as well.’. ‘It depends on what they win so it’s a tough one.’. ‘Yeah, exactly. Vini or Salah.’. Turning their attentions to Liverpool’s treble chances, the CBS Sports punditry panel were in agreement that the Slot’s men will likely find it difficult to pull off a clean sweep of the competitions in which they are still involved.

‘No, I just think the league is the most important thing for Liverpool this season,’ Carragher replied when asked whether the club could win the Premier League, the Champions League and the Carabao Cup. ‘I think once we start getting towards March, April, the focus, if Liverpool are playing midweek on Wednesday night, big Champions League game or a Saturday, I think for most people the league [takes priority].

‘I think Liverpool will win the league and the Carabao Cup.’. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video. Up Next. Henry said: ‘That’s a small treble though. The real treble is the FA Cup, for me. ‘I think it will be tough for them, I think it will be tough.’. Richards, who won the Premier League and FA Cup with Manchester City, chimed in: ‘I think they’ll win two. I agree with Jamie.’.