Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher breaks down what he ‘got wrong’ with AFCON ‘fact’ – ‘I was clumsy’

Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has explained what he “got wrong” with his African Cup of Nations “fact” after he was “clumsy” with his initial statement.

Carragher was heavily criticised after he suggested the AFCON is not a “major tournament” when backing Liverpool standout Mohamed Salah to win this season’s Ballon d’Or.

Salah is the firm favourite to win this season’s award as he is starring for Liverpool, who are pursuing the Premier League, Champions League and Carabao Cup.

Liverpool legend Carragher claimed Salah’s chances of winning the Ballon d’Or by him “not playing in a major tournament”.

“I think the problem (is) the fact he (Salah) is with Egypt, and he’s probably not playing in a major tournament as such, or maybe got a great chance of winning, I think it’s either the Champions League or the major tournament (that is needed to win the award),” Carragher said.

READ: Why Liverpool can’t keep Salah, Van Dijk and TAA as three clubs approach financial oblivion

“Normally, the player who excels in that (wins it), like Vini Jr and (Kylian) Mbappe right now, Real Madrid are looking really good going for the Champions League.

“Liverpool will be in that conversation, but right now (Real) are certainly the front runner.”

Now, Carragher has dropped a detailed explanation on “where he got it wrong”, even though the crux of his argument “was a fact”.

“I have got very strong opinions on the game, I love debate, and that will never change,” Carragher said on CBS Sports.

MORE LIVERPOOL COVERAGE ON F365…
👉 Liverpool ‘top target’ receives ‘go-ahead’ for Real Madrid transfer with ‘swap’ to ‘facilitate operation’
👉 ‘Very upset’ Liverpool star ‘fully decides to leave’ as move to Euro giants moves ‘closer’
👉 Liverpool decide ‘new top’ target with ‘incredible’ PL star ‘leapfrogged’ amid one concern

“But what I would never want to be described as, as a pundit, is ignorant or disrespectful so that was never my aim. And whether that’s to a player, a club, a country, a continent, a continental tournament, whatever that may be.

“What I would say is, where I got it wrong was, I was clumsy describing AFCON as not a major tournament. I was trying to explain the merits of Mo Salah winning the Ballon d’Or, and I feel that not just AFCON, I would say the Asia Games, the Gold Cup, not so much the Copa America, but there are five major tournaments out there besides the World Cup that are for their continent and are a major tournament.

“But some of them don’t resonate with the people who vote for the Ballon d’Or. And that for me was not an opinion, that was a fact in terms of looking who had won the Ballon d’Or in the last 40 or 50 years.

“Yes, I’ve been banging the drum for Mo Salah to become the first African player to win the Ballon d’Or since George Weah in the mid ’90s. As I said, I should have been a lot tidier with my language around that, so yes, that’s something I’ll look at.

“But as I said, you do look at the Euros, where it’s at right now, and other competitions, and some of them resonate with the Ballon d’Or voters, who sometimes are journalists, national coaches, national captains.

“And one of the reasons might be, sometimes we forget, the Ballon d’Or was the European Footballer of the Year. So maybe there is a bias towards the Euros or European football in the past.

“It was definitely not my aim to offend anybody – I know I’ve done that a lot in the past in different guises about different players and teams. But that was certainly not the case. yes, hopefully that’s now addressed it.”