Mohamed Salah has admitted to being “shocked” at his seventh-placed finish in last year’s Ballon d’Or.
The award was won by Lionel Messi, predominantly for his performances at Barcelona before a summer switch to Paris Saint-Germain, with Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski and Chelsea midfielder Jorginho rounding out the top three.
Liverpool forward Salah finished in seventh place despite an impressive year of showings, and he revealed his emotions around missing out on the prize of being named the best men’s player in the world while talking to DMC, per the Mirror.
“It shocked me [not doing better in Ballon d’Or voting], but there’s nothing I can say,” Salah admitted.
“No one in the world expected that I would be seventh, but that’s what happened.
“I do not feel the conspiracy theory, but there may be inaccurate choices, and there are many countries which aren’t popular with football knowledge and so far from it.
“I do not know their choices based on what, but I do not believe in the conspiracy theory. I don’t have the feeling that there is anything personal against me specifically in the Fifa choices, but this is the reality we are dealing with.”
Messi’s Ballon d’Or triumph marked the Argentina captain’s seventh time lifting the trophy, extending his record.
The forward finally won the Copa America with his nation in 2021, having finished as a runner-up three times.
