Liverpool s Egyptian midfielder Mohamed Salah (L) chips the ball over Chelsea s French-born Senegalese goalkeeper Edouard Mendy (R) but it is cleared before reaching the goal during the English League Cup final football match between Chelsea and Liverpool at Wembley Stadium, north-west London on February 27, 2022. AFP
The Liverpool winger (121 points) came behind winner Lionel Messi (613 points), who won a record-extending seventh title, Robert Lewandowski (580 points), Jorginho (460 points), Karim Benzema (239 points), N'Golo Kante (186 points) and Cristiano Ronaldo (178 points).
“I was shocked with the results and could not find words to [express myself],” Salah told an Egyptian TV programme late on Thursday.
“No one in the world expected to finish in seventh place, but that was what happened.”
“I feel it is not 100 percent fair... as we know nothing about the voting rules, but I do not believe in the conspiracy theories,” Salah added.
It was the third time Salah has been nominated for this award; he finished sixth in 2018 and fifth in 2019. The award was not issued in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 29-year-old winger is the only Egyptian player to have been nominated for this award, which was established in 1956.
This year's 30-man list included only one other African player, with Algerian Riyad Mahrez ranking 20th.
Salah 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.
The Egyptian star is leading the race this season with 19 goals in 24 Premier League appearances, in addition to 10 assists that put him on top of both charts.
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