Mohamed Salah has missed out on the Best FIFA Men’s Player of the Year award, a gong that was also contested by Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski.
From an original 11-man shortlist which was then dwindled down to the final three, Liverpool’s No. 11 saw the top prize handed out elsewhere in FIFA’s award ceremony on Monday night.
The Egyptian, currently in Cameroon for the Africa Cup of Nations, is widely regarded as one of the world’s best thanks to a staggering return in front of goal.
But it was Lewandowski who took the top prize, with Messi and Salah finishing as runners up after votes from current men’s national team coaches and captains, journalists and fans.
The Bayern Munich man is a worthy winner in his own right after 43 goals for the German side and 11 assists.
Salah’s last appearance in the FIFA Men’s Best award was back in 2018 when he finished third.
During the applicable period of the award from October 2020 to August 2021, Salah scored 26 goals and laid on six assists at club level.
But yet he was staggeringly omitted from the FIFA XI of the year, even with a 3-3-4 formation as Cristiano Ronaldo, Erling Haaland, Lewandowski and Messi were instead selected.
Underrated or what? Add it to the laughable seventh-place finish in the Ballon d’Or and use it as fuel, Mo!
FIFA Team of the Year (3-3-4): Donnarumma, Alaba, Dias, Bonucci, Jorginho, Kante, De Bruyne, Ronaldo, Haaland, Lewandowski, Messi
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