Jamie Carragher risks Mohamed Salah's wrath again by snubbing Liverpool star
Jamie Carragher does not believe Mohamed Salah warrants a placed in a Team of the Year for 2024 despite his phenomenal form so far this season and instead opted to pick Lamine Yamal
by Scott Trotter · The MirrorJamie Carragher has risked drawing the ire of Mohamed Salah once again, after leaving him out of his EA SPORTS FC 25 Team of the Year.
Recent months have seen the former Liverpool defender question Salah's tendency to discuss his future with the Reds publicly. The Egyptian forward has yet to agree a new deal and his contract is now within its final six months at Anfield.
After his most recent comments, Salah joked that the Kop legend was 'obsessed with him', with Carragher admitting he would be more than happy to continue that obsession for another year.
But, given Salah's tremendous form in the 2024/25 season, it is a surprise to see Carragher leave Liverpool's talisman out of his selection. The pundit instead chose Lamine Yamal despite Salah racking up 20 goals and 17 assists in 26 matches before the turn of the year.
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Colleague Gary Neville was left bewildered by Carragher's decision. But the 46-year-old was effusive in his praise for Barcelona starlet Yamal following his spectacular breakthrough. “You’ve not gone for [Mohamed] Salah?” Neville said. "Oh my goodness gracious! Is that because he’s basically said he’s going to leave again this week?”
Carragher replied: "No, I’ve went for [Lamine] Yamal. He’s 16, he won the European Championship, he was the best player there.
“For me, he’s going to be the next [Lionel] Messi, [Cristiano] Ronaldo type, I just think when we’re picking these things, more often than not, I know it’s not a calendar year but more often than not, if you’re picking the Ballon d’Or, it’s almost about the tournament.
"Normally, that plays a big part and I just think watching him at that tournament, watching Spain and when you said about before about Rodri being missing, he’s been missing a little bit in the last weeks and months for Barcelona and they’ve completely fallen off a cliff, Barcelona. He was sensational so I just went for Yamal.”
Neville argued that Yamal's productivity was incomparable to that of Salah however. “He’s sensational, I remember doing the games in the summer and he was fantastic but I think he had only scored three or four goals for Barcelona, whole of last season," said Neville.
"He wasn’t, like amazing for Barcelona. And I just thought Salah, you can’t deny Salah! I love that kid but Salah’s like a machine.”
Carragher highlighted that Salah endured a difficult first six months of 2024 to vindicate his assessment. The veteran winger saw Egypt knocked out in the last-16 of the Africa Cup of Nations as he struggled to recover from injury.
"If you’re taking on the calendar year, you’re taking the Africa Cup of Nations into account, aren’t you," Carragher offered. "That didn’t go particularly well for Mo and the second half of last season didn’t go particularly well for Mo.
“This first half of the season, he’s probably been the best player in the world this sort of half of the season and I just think, what that kid did in the tournament and Mo Salah didn’t have the first half of the calendar year so that’s why I went for Yamal.”
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