Liverpool fans have a theory why Mohamed Salah will win the Ballon d’Or over Ousmane Dembele

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Liverpool star Mohamed Salah will find out on Monday evening whether he has won the 2025 Ballon d’Or.

The 33-year-old is believed to be in contention to win the prize in Paris after claiming the Premier League’s golden boot and playmaker awards on his way to winning the club’s 20th league title last season.

Although Salah has been criticised for his displays at the beginning of the campaign, despite recording three goals and three assists in his first six outings across all competitions, for the first time in the award’s history, the Ballon d’Or will be ranked on performances across a season rather than the calendar year.

Salah is one of four Liverpool nominees and will be joined by teammates Virgil van Dijk, Florian Wirtz, and Alexis Mac Allister for the ceremony.

While Paris Saint-Germain forward Ousmane Dembele is considered the favourite due to his efforts in helping Luis Enrique lift the Champions League in May, the Reds supporters have made a strong case as to why their star talisman should be the recipient this year.

Mohamed Salah should win the Ballon d’Or over Ousmane Dembele

Van Dijk has backed Salah to win the Ballon d’Or after his record-breaking season, but due to missing out on the Champions League, Dembele is comfortably the frontrunner.

However, based on individual merit alone, Liverpool supporters have taken to social media to argue that Salah had a more deserving campaign than the Frenchman.

One supporter wrote: “If Mo Salah doesn’t win the Ballon d’Or, it will be the biggest robbery in history. 29 goals and 18 assists in the league, best by a distance in Europe. Dembele and (Lamine) Yamal are nowhere near him!”

“Salah had the greatest individual Premier League season of all time. If he doesn’t win the Ballon d’Or today, it only confirms the suspected bias against him. For context, Dembele had 48 goal involvements last season, Salah had 57 in a harder league. It’s a crime against football if he doesn’t get it,” another said.

Indeed, Salah outperformed Dembele in both goals and assists; however, historically, this alone is not enough to claim the award, as seen with the last Premier League Ballon d’Or winner, Rodri, who won the league with Manchester City and the 2024 European Championships with Spain.

“The Ballon d’Or has become an overrated prize, nothing to do with level or what you achieve! A prize based on nationality, team, politics & money. The award should be and has been given in the past to the player who makes the difference and wins accolades, and Salah is the difference maker.”

Despite Dembele’s achievements, the Liverpool supporters believe Salah stands a real chance of winning on Monday, as he ticks all of the required criteria under consideration.

“In 2019, Lionel Messi got rewarded with the Ballon d’Or because he carried a team to a difficult league title. In 2025, Mohamed Salah did it in the most difficult league in the world, winning every individual award. We will not accept anything less than a Ballon d’Or tomorrow!”

Another wrote: “I honestly believe that Salah should be the winner by the end of the night..he deserves to be crowned after all what he has done to the football world..he’s been a great example to all youngsters all over the world he gave them hope and he’s been the pride of his country Egypt .. be fair to him just for one time and make it happen this year!! Give him what he deserves, the Ballon d’Or.”

Mohamed Salah has a 1% of winning the Ballon d’Or

As revealed by another supporter via X, Salah currently has a 1% chance of winning the Ballon d’Or in comparison to Dembele, who has a 79% probability of being named the winner – even Barcelona duo Lamine Yamal and Raphinha stand a higher chance.

No supporter of any club would diminish the achievements of Dembele and PSG, who were resoundingly the most dominant side in Europe last season.

However, outside of the European triumph, Dembele falters in comparison to Salah, winning the Ligue 1 with a side that has won eight out of the last ten league titles, which is hardly a comparable achievement to winning the Premier League.

Furthermore, there is arguably no better nominee who displays class on and off the pitch than the Egyptian. However, despite fans’ protests, it is looking increasingly likely that Salah will not become the first Liverpool player since Michael Owen to win the Ballon d’Or.