Jamie Carragher recently faced backlash following comments that Salah and AFCON’s status as an international tournament lowered his stakes in the Ballon d’Or race.
Speaking on Sky Sports after Liverpool’s 2-0 victory over Manchester City, the former Liverpool defender said, “I think the problem is the fact he’s with Egypt, and he’s probably not playing in the major tournament as such or maybe got a great chance of winning. I think it’s either the Champions League or the major international tournaments that wins players the Ballon d’Or.”
His co-panelist, Micah Richards, was quick to interject, stating: “AFCON is a major tournament. A lot of people at home will say they’re taking that seriously. AFCON is a major tournament, just so you know.”
Carragher clapped back by asking the Micah Richards if he thought Egypt had a chance of winning the World Cup. To which Richards replied: “No, but AFCON is big, isn’t it?”
Former Liverpool forward Daniel Sturridge added his two cents on the topic, “It’s a fact. If you win the Euros or Copa America it’s deemed to be big so logically, the AFCON is at the same level.”
Ferdinand responded on his YouTube channel later, calling Carragher’s comment “ignorant.” He elaborated, “That comment is representative of the majority of people out there. The majority would say that, and I don’t think that’s right. That’s an ignorant thought process. If you go to Didier Drogba, Abedi Pele, Samuel Eto’o, Riyad Mahrez, Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, they will tell you we have to win this. I understand what Jamie is saying, but I don’t agree with it.”
Carragher swiftly hit back at Ferdinand on Instagram, commenting, “I didn’t say that, you clown, stop playing to the gallery like you always do.”
He later clarified his stance in a separate post, explaining: “The point I was trying to make was that Mo Salah is at a disadvantage playing for Egypt in terms of winning the Ballon d’Or. If Salah had an average season at Liverpool but won AFCON and was MVP, I don’t think he would win the Ballon d’Or. Because I don’t think AFCON carries the weight of other tournaments. But if Mbappé had an average season at Real Madrid but won the World Cup or Euros, he would still have a great opportunity.”
Carragher admitted that saying AFCON wasn’t a “major tournament” was not the right choice of words, but maintained his argument, stating: “It’s not disrespectful if I feel the World Cup, Euros, or Copa América are better tournaments. That’s just my opinion when I watch them.”
Acknowledging the backlash, he added, “The face I pulled when Micah interjected was nothing to do with the merits of the tournament. I just knew as soon as he did what the reaction was going to be! I get that a lot of people didn’t like what I said, and that’s fine.”