25 September 2025
After the disappointment suffered by Egyptian star Mohamed Salah, who finished fourth on the Ballon d'Or list for the best player of 2025, news agencies revealed that it was the African journalists who mostly let the Egyptian star down during the voting.
The Ballon d'Or award is based on the votes of accredited journalists from around the world, each representing their country, who vote for the five best players in the world for 2025.
Salah's Disappointment
It became clear that journalists from the African continent dealt Mohamed Salah a heavy blow by excluding him from their list of the "five best players in the world" when they submitted their votes to France Football magazine, which is responsible for awarding the Ballon d'Or.
Omar, the journalist representing Senegal, chose Frenchman Ousmane Dembélé, followed by Spaniard Lamine Yamal, and Brazilian Rafinha in third place.
Emmanuel, the journalist representing Côte d'Ivoire, chose Dembélé, Yamal, Rafinha, Hakimi, and Guinean Guirassy.
The journalist representing Morocco selected Yamal, followed by Hakimi, Dembélé, and Pedri.
The journalist representing Cameroon selected Yamal, followed by Dembélé, and did not include Salah in his top five. Meanwhile, the journalist representing Togo selected Hakimi first, excluding Salah from the top five.
Salah's exclusion from the lists led to his dropping to fourth place in the final list, despite the support he received from some Arab journalists, as well as European support.
