Mohamed Salah has been backed to become the first African to win the Ballon d'Or in 30 years.
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The last player from the African continent to hold the prestigious Golden Ball aloft was George Weah in 1995. Since then, no other player representing a CAF nation has ever won football's highest individual honour, with Sadio Mane coming closest in 2022 when he finished runner-up to Karim Benzema.
However, it seems that his former Liverpool teammate could go one step further than him and claim the honour later this year.
CBS Sports pundits Jamie Carragher, Thierry Henry, and Micah Richards were recently quizzed on who they thought was the early frontrunner to win the Ballon d'Or later this year, and all three were in agreement that the Egypt captain would capture the title if he were to continue in this same vein.
The former Reds central defender was the first to exclaim Salah's name, before Henry and Richards echoed his sentiments.
"I'm with Jamie, yeah. If he carries on like that, yeah. If he carries on like that," the Frenchman added, as per the Daily Mirror.
While Richards did say that his former Fiorentina teammate is on his way to being anointed as the next recipient of the award, he did caveat his statement by saying that another forward could be rivalling him.
"He [Salah] is my mate, but maybe Vinicius… Yeah, probably Salah as well," the former Manchester City defender said.
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The highest position Salah has finished in the Ballon d'Or voting was fifth in 2019, behind Lionel Messi, Virgil van Dijk, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Mane.
