Rio Ferdinand believes Mo Salah is way ahead in the race for the 2025 Ballon d’Or but explains why the Liverpool star might not win it

Rio Ferdinand has declared that Mo Salah is currently the standout candidate to win the men’s Ballon d’Or later this year.

Salah has scored 30 goals in 39 appearances for Liverpool this season, powering the club to the top of the Premier League table and the last 16 of the Champions League.

‘Right now at this moment in time, I don’t think there’s anyone else on the podium with him,’ Ferdinand said this week on TNT Sports.

Ferdinand was speaking ahead of Liverpool’s Champions League clash with Paris Saint-Germain – the winner of which will meet Aston Villa or Club Brugge in the quarter-finals.

Despite his belief that Salah is currently leading the Ballon d’Or race, Ferdinand feels that the 32-year-old Egyptian may well miss out on world football’s top individual award if Liverpool do not win – or at least go deep in – the Champions League.

He added: ‘I think with the way the Champions League works, as you get through the knockout stages and someone starts coming to the fore, they (Ballon d’Or contenders) end up there.

TNT Sports pundit Rio Ferdinand believes that Salah is currently leading the Ballon d’Or race

‘It comes down to moments in big games, really. You can throw Salah in there, you can throw [Ousmane] Dembele in there if PSG go far. [Kylian] Mbappe will be there, [as will] Vinicius [Junior] and [Jude] Bellingham.

‘Whoever keeps their status and turns up in the semi-finals and final will win it. If they (Liverpool) win the Champions League, I’m sure he’ll play a big part.’

Most bookmakers currently rate Liverpool as third favourites to end the season as champions of Europe, with Barcelona and Real Madrid viewed as marginally more likely winners.

But Salah is the outright favourite for the Ballon d’Or based on the betting, ahead of Mbappe, Vinicius, Lamine Yamal and Raphinha.

A Liverpool player has not won the Ballon d’Or since Michael Owen in 2001, while the last African to win the prize was Liberian George Weah in 1995.

The 2025 Ballon d’Or awards ceremony will take place on October 27.

Salah may no longer be a Liverpool player by then as his current contract is due to expire on June 30.

The former Chelsea and Roma forward, who has been at Liverpool since 2017, recently revealed that winning the Premier League is his top target.

Twenty-five of Salah’s 30 goals for Liverpool this season have come in the Premier League

Manchester City’s Rodri won the Ballon d’Or in 2024 but Salah is the favourite to succeed him

Salah has won seven different trophies during his Liverpool career, including the Champions League and the Premier League.

However, his Premier League success came during the COVID pandemic, meaning Liverpool were unable to celebrate properly with their supporters.

‘The biggest motivation is to win the Premier League,’ he told Optus Sport. ‘Not even the Champions League. I always say Champions League, for seven years I said the Champions League. This is the first year I say the Premier League.

‘I just want to win the Premier League with the city and the fans to experience that day with them to go and parade in the city. It’s going to be incredible.’

Liverpool are currently in pole position to win their second Premier League title after opening up a 13-point lead on Arsenal – albeit having played a game more than the Gunners.

The Reds also have a Carabao Cup final to look forward to later this month against Newcastle, but first they must try to get past French champions PSG in Europe.

Salah won the Champions League with Liverpool in 2019, before parading the trophy across Merseyside in an open-top bus.

Reflecting on those celebrations, Salah said: ‘It’s an incredible day to be fair. That’s why I’m really desperate to win the Premier League with the club now and have the same day as this one. It’s going to be unforgettable because I know how much it means to win the Premier League.’