Excitement, unpredictability and surprises are all reasons why we love sports. We love the sense of knowing anything can happen at any moment and any team can upset on any given day. We love seeing the underdog win. It’s a natural feeling. At the same time, we get tired of predictable winners. A fourth straight Warriors vs Cavs matchup in the NBA Finals would be terribly boring and would affect the sport. The Cristiano/Messi Ballon D’Or dominance has taken away the element of surprise in the sport. At the end of the day, we can all agree we’d love to see a surprise winner standing in the podium with the Ballon D’Or. We finally have our savior: the legend Mo Salah himself.
Mo Salah is having the season of a lifetime. He’s scored 31 league goals so far raising his tally to 45 goals in all competitions, has his team in the Champions League final for the first time since 2007 and was recently crowned the best player in the EPL this season. He’s resurrected Liverpool and has brought back smiles to Anfield. He’s even known as the Egyptian Messi by fans worldwide. A humble winner who remains true to his religion and community. How can you possibly hate him?
Realistically, we all know he doesn’t belong in the same sentence as Cristiano and Messi when it comes to talent. But then again, who does? Every year we have a player that gets mixed in with Cristiano and Messi in the Ballon D’Or talks. We’ve seen Iniesta, Ribery, Neuer, Neymar, Griezmann, Suarez etc. Fantastic players that were unfortunate to have played during the wrong years. Mo Salah can now be added to that list. The best human player this season.
At this day and age, we know that the Ballon D’Or isn’t necessarily handed to the player who performed the best throughout the ENTIRE calendar year. It’s given to the player who gave us something to talk about day in and day out. A player who shined during the the biggest games of the season. The one that flooded our Instagram feeds with iconic pictures of his goals and celebrations. Basically, the most talked about player from January to June.
Cristiano has had an insane Champions League run this season by scoring in almost every single game so far. Messi has carried Barcelona on his back to a domestic double making it two doubles and a treble in four years. In other words, just another year for these two. Their legacy will not be tarnished by a golden ball given out at the end of the year. Same way Cristiano’s talent wasn’t questioned when Messi was winning his four straight Ballon D’Ors and vice versa. So who cares? Let’s give it to someone new. Bring change and excitement into the game for the first time since 2007.
Mo Salah has gone from a Chelsea reject to a household name. All while being a genuinely nice person who everyone seems to love. Unless you are a direct rival of Liverpool, you cannot help but admire Salah’s season and admit that you love watching him play. Face the facts, this curly headed Muslim has killed it this season and deserves to be praised. Giving him the Ballon D’Or would not just bring the excitement to the sport, but it would mean the World to the entire Arabic and Muslim community worldwide. Let’s end the Cristiano/Messi dominance. It’s time. It’s time for Mo Salah.
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