Salah started dreaming of the Ballon d'Or when he joined Liverpool

Liverpool's Mohamed Salah revealed that he first started to think about winning the Ballon d'Or after completing his move to Anfield back in 2017. 

Salah, along with Paris Saint-Germain's Ousmane Dembele and Barcelona duo Lamine Yamal and Raphinha, are among the favourites to win the individual prize this year.

The Egyptian enjoyed a stellar season for Arne Slot's team, netting 34 goals and providing 23 assists across 52 appearances in all competitions for the Reds. 

He led Liverpool to their second top flight title in five years, while also tying the record for the most goals and assists combined in a single Premier League campaign (47). 

Salah was also the fifth different player in Premier League history to be named Player of the Season on more than one occasion, after Thierry Henry, Cristiano Ronaldo, Nemanja Vidic and Kevin De Bruyne.

The 33-year-old also claimed his fourth Golden Boot, going level with Henry for the most in the competition, which has put him firmly in contention to lift the Ballon d'Or. 

"If I win it, it would be great. If I don't win it, I think my career will also be very good," Salah told France Football. 

"But that image is in my head, always. I just want to win it for my people. That's the thing that's stuck in my head."

The last - and only - Liverpool player to win the Ballon d'Or was Michael Owen in 2001.

Salah scored 32 goals and provided 10 assists in his debut campaign with Liverpool in the Premier League in 2017-18. Following his spectacular run of form in 2024-25, he is the only player in the competition's history to record 40 or more goal involvements in two separate seasons.

But despite his impressive consistency during his eight-year stay on Merseyside, Salah has never finished higher than fifth in the Ballon d'Or, which came in 2019, coming in behind team-mates Sadio Mane and Virgil van Dijk as Lionel Messi scooped the top prize. 

Now, after winning both the Premier League and Football Writers' Association Player of the Year awards last month, the former Chelsea and Roma forward is hopeful he can become just the second African to win the award - and pay homage to his native Egypt.

"It wasn't in my head when I was that young, because when you play in Egypt on the street, you don't see yourself winning the Ballon d'Or," Salah said.

"The first time it triggered was when Ramy [Abbas, Salah's agent] spoke to me about it. I think I started to believe it more in Liverpool, not in Rome.

"Several winners in recent years have been in their thirties. So, who knows?

"And then, next season promises to be exciting with the defence of our title with Liverpool and the Champions League, AFCON with Egypt and the World Cup."