The Liverpool winger (121 points) came behind winner Lionel Messi (613 points) , who won a record-extending 7th title, Robert Lewandowski (580 points), Jorginho (460 points), Karim Benzema (239 points), N'Golo Kante (186 points) and Cristiano Ronaldo (178 points).

Salah did not attend the ceremony, which was held at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris.

This is the third time Salah has been nominated for this award, as he finished sixth in 2018 and fifth in 2019. The award was not issued in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Salah is the only Egyptian player to have been nominated for this award, which was established in 1956.

The 30-man list has included only one other African player as Riyad Mahrez ranks 20th.

The 29-year-old has just wrapped up another impressive year after finishing last season as the top scorer for his team, bagging 31 goals in all competitions including 22 Premier League goals, falling one strike short of Tottenham’s Harry Kane, who won the golden boot.

Salah is leading the race this season with 11 goals in 13 Premier League appearances, in addition to seven assists that put him on top of both charts.

Salah has kept his habit of shattering records in 2021, beating legendary captain Steven Gerrard to become Liverpool’s All-time scorer in the Champions League and beating Ivorian striker Didier Drogba (104 goals) as the top African scorer in the Premier League.

Although he has given a splendid individual performance, it was the collective that failed him. Salah won no trophies in 2021, a major criterion in the Ballon d’Or vote. Liverpool barely made it to the top four in the Premier League and were eliminated from the Round of 16 in last season’s Champions League.

Egypt also did not take part in any major tournament, as opposed to Argentina, led by Messi, who won the Copa America in the summer.

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