Ahmed Elmohamady jumps to Mo Salah’s defence in AFCON feud with Jamie Carragher

Liverpool legend and current Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher caused quite the stir with comments on air following the Reds’ 2-0 win over Manchester City on Sunday afternoon.

Carragher, alongside Micah Richards and Daniel Sturridge in the studio, were discussing the likelihood of Mohamed Salah winning the 2025 Ballon d’Or. The Egyptian winger has contributed a remarkable 30 goals and 21 assists in 38 appearances across all competitions so far this season and is on track to win the Premier League, possibly also the Champions League.

It appeared as if all the pundits were going to agree Salah is the out-and-out favourite to win the world’s most prestigious individual award but Carragher stepped in with a controversial comment about the Africa Cup of Nations. Although AFCON isn’t even being competed this year, the former England centre-half believed it was relevant enough to mention.

“I think the problem is the fact he’s with Egypt and probably not playing in the major tournaments as such, he’s not got a great chance of winning it,” Carragher told Sky Sports. “I think it’s either the Champions League or the major tournament – normally the player who excels in that.”

A split-second of silence met the studio once Carragher had finished, before Richards hit back. “Just to say, AFCON is a major tournament, just so you know,” the ex-Manchester City defender said. Then, former Liverpool striker Sturridge added: “ It’s a fact, if you win the Euros or the Copa America it’s deemed to be a major trophy, so AFCON should be too.”

Elmohamady jumps to Salah’s defence

As the Salah and AFCON debate went viral on social media throughout Sunday and Monday, several key voices came out to share their opinions on the matter. One of these was Ahmed Elmohamady - the former Aston Villa and Hull City wing-back - who himself won AFCON on two occasions, in 2008 and 2010.

Posting to X (formerly Twitter), Elmohamady jumped to his countryman Salah’s defence by writing: “Jamie Carragher doesn’t know what a major tournament is because he never won one. AFCON is a major tournament. So proud to have won it twice.”

Jamie Carragher responds

Following widespread claims that Carragher had been offensive to AFCON as a tournament, the 47-year-old decided to address the issue publicly. Also posting to X, the 38-time ex-England international explained the thinking behind his opinion and stands by it.

Posting to X, Carragher said: “The point I was trying to make yesterday was that Mo Salah is at a disadvantage playing for Egypt in terms of him winning the Ballon D’or. If Salah had an average season at LFC but won the AFCON & was MVP I don’t think he would win the Ballon d’or.

“Because I don’t think AFCON carries the weight of other tournaments. But if Mbappe had an average season at Real Madrid but won the World Cup/Euros he would still have a great opportunity.

“It’s not just about certain tournaments, Shevchenko (Ukraine) Lewandowski (Poland) were never going to win the WC/Euros to help their case for the prize. I don’t think it’s controversial at all really it’s just a fact.

“I know Mane came 2nd a few years back after winning the tournament but that alone wouldn’t have got him to that position, it was LFC being two games away from a quadruple that played a big role also.

“It’s not disrespectful if I feel the WC/Euros/CP are better tournaments it’s just my opinion when I watch them. Saying it wasn’t a major competition was clumsy but I think most people watching could understand the point I was trying to make.

“The face I pulled when Micah interjected was nothing to do with the merits of the tournament, I just knew as soon as he did what the reaction was going to be! I get a lot people didn’t like what I said & that’s fine.”