Rio Ferdinand fights ‘ignorant’ Jamie Carragher to certify AfCon during the Salah Ballon d’Or

Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand criticized Jamie Carragher for the comments that seemed to have diminished the African Cup of the Peoples (AFCON) as the main tournament, calling them “ignorant”.

Counterfeit came after Liverpool’s victory of 2-0 over Manchester City on Sunday. During the discussion after the match, Carragher suggested that the chances of Mohamed Salah had conquered Ballon d’O or interfered with the fact that he represented Egypt, not the European power plant.

Salah was in a sensational form, scoring 25 goals in 27 appearances and cementing his place as the sixth biggest scorer naked in the history of the Premier League. Despite his achievements, he never made it to the heel from the fifth on the Ballon D’Or ladder.

“I think the problem is the fact that he is with Egypt, and probably not playing in the main tournament as such or may have been given a great chance to win,” Carragher said Sky Sports.

“I think it’s either a Champions League or the main tournament [that wins the Ballon d’Or]. “

His co -founder Micah Richards quickly challenged the remark, saying, “I’ll just say, Afcon is the main tournament. Many people at home will say they take it seriously. Afcon is the main tournament, you just know that way.”

Rio Ferdinand later addressed Carragher’s comments on his YouTube channel, echoing Richard’s attitude and calling for Afcon.

Salah/AfCon/Ballo d’Or!

The point I was trying to do yesterday was that Mo Salah was in an unfavorable position by playing for Egypt in the sense that he won the d’Or balloon.
If Salah had an average season at the LFC, but he won at AfCon, he was a MVP, I don’t think he would have won the d’Or balloon.

– Jamie Carragher (@Carra23) 24. February 2025

“That comment [Carragher’s] is representative to most people out there, “Ferdinand said.” Most people would say that. I think that’s wrong, I think it’s a ignorant of a thought process because [Africa Cup of Nations] … If you go to Didier Drogba, Abedi Pele, Samuel Eto’o, Riyad Mahrez, Mohamed Salah, planted flaws, will tell you we have to win.

“I understand what Jamie is saying, but I don’t agree with that. But I understand it’s guilty and it’s wrong.”

Carragher quickly returned Ferdinand, going to social media to beat his claims.

Responding to Ferdinand’s post on Instagram, he wrote: “I didn’t say you are a clown, stop playing in the gallery as always. “

Later, in a separate post on X, Carragher further clarified his position.

“The point I was trying to do yesterday was that Mo Salah was in an unfavorable position by playing for Egypt in the sense that he won the D’Or or Salah Balloon had an average season at LFC, but won at AfCon –ui was MVP , I don’t think he would win the Balloon d’Or.

“Because I think AfCon carries the weight of other tournaments. But that Mbappe had an average season in Real Madrid, but he won the World Cup/Eure, he would still have a great opportunity. It is not disrespectful if I consider the toilet/eur/CP better tournaments , that’s just my opinion when I look at them. “

He also admitted that his formulation could have been better.

“To say that this was not the main competition was clumsy, but I think most people who watched could understand the point I was trying to make.”