‘Smirking’ Carragher didn’t ‘f*** off’ – Liverpool hero doubles down on reason for Salah Ballon d’Or snub
Jamie Carragher was torn to shreds earlier this year after explaining why he believed Mohamed Salah wouldn’t win the Ballon d’Or, and after the Liverpool star finished fourth on Monday, the pundit has doubled down on his controversial take.
Paris Saint-Germain’s Ousmane Dembele won the gong ahead of Barcelona teenager Lamine Yamal in second and PSG teammate Vitinha in third, and despite a late push from his compatriots urging the 100 journalists to be “fair” and vote for Salah, it wasn’t to be for the Egyptian.
Carragher made headlines back in February when he said that Salah only had a slim chance of winning the award as the Africa Cup of Nations isn’t held in the same regard as the Euros or Copa America.
READ MORE: Salah can bring out Carragher and other Ballon d’Or bigots in 2026 after Dembele victory
“I think the problem is the fact he’s with Egypt,” Carragher said when assessing Salah’s Ballon d’Or chances back in February. “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 tournament. Normally, the player who excels in that.”
Carragher was immediately put in his place by both Daniel Sturridge and Micah Richards in the Sky Sports studio ahead of a huge backlash in response to his AFCON claim, including from Rio Ferdinand – whom Carragher later branded as a “clown” – and former Chelsea star John Obi Mikel, who didn’t hold back in his criticism of the Liverpool legend.
Speaking on The Obi One Podcast, Mikel said: “It’s so disrespectful what he said, and this is coming from someone who never won any major international competition with England.
“His statement was absolutely wrong. I hope he will come out and make a massive apology because he owes people around the world an apology. [It was] ignorant to disrespect such a wonderful tournament.
“If you think that the Premier League would be what it is today with just the English players you’re f***ing having a laugh mate.
“The smirk on his face, the arrogant f***ing smirk on his face to dismiss… That smirk on his face is absolutely what tipped me off. You have people trying to correct you and you’re coming out and attacking absolutely everyone else and discrediting this wonderful tournament.
MORE LIVERPOOL COVERAGE ON F365
👉 Liverpool ‘close in’ with ‘significant’ deal deemed a ‘formality’ on one condition amid Guehi ‘big news’
👉 Wirtz sympathy and Woltemade ‘madness’ – Rummenigge joins salty Bayern beerfest
👉 Liverpool decide to ‘activate huge deal’ as Euro giants ‘risk being robbed’ amid ‘urgent’ transfer ‘plan’
“Africans watch you on the weekend and you sit there, open your mouth and discredit the whole f***ing African continent, saying your African Nations tournament is s***. That is has no value because it’s not the Euros or Copa America. He can f*** off. We know in Africa what we bring to the Premier League.”
But Carragher didn’t “f*** off” and doubled down on his controversial claim, tripping himself up in the process by claiming the player of the tournament in a Euro or World Cup “more often than not would probably get the trophy”, which wasn’t the case this time around.
He said on The Overlap: “I think I go back to something I said something about Salah, it obviously caused a big storm at the time about the African Cup of Nations.
“But I do feel that whether we like it or not, the biggest trophies play a part. So normally around a World Cup or a Euro year, whoever is the player of the tournament more often than not would probably get the trophy.
“I think the Champions League does play a big part. I think if Liverpool beat Paris Saint-Germain in that game, Liverpool maybe get to the semi, maybe win who knows? He probably gets it.”
