The Player of the Year and Golden Boot winner is looking to claim another accolade in 2025, despite being left out of Liverpool’s squad by manager Arne Slott at the end of the year.
After an eventful few days, the BBC has delivered a bit of classic good news for Mo Salah. The current Player of the Year has been selected as one of six finalists for the BBC’s 2025 World Sports Star Award.
For people of a certain age, it’s the award formerly known as Overseas Sports Personality of the Year. Having won the individual award at the end of the 2024/25 football season and helping Liverpool complete their task of winning the Premier League (they were six points apart at the start of the year), it is natural that Salah would be in contention for such an award.
However, this is an award for 2025, with Salah scoring 18 goals for the club in all competitions in 2025. Yes, he finished last season as the Premier League’s Golden Boot award winner, but he has only scored 15 goals in the Premier League in 2025, six of which were penalty goals.
read more: Jamie Carragher makes a U-turn on Mohamed Salah with personal apology on live TVread more: Andy Robertson reveals his feelings towards Mo Salah in Liverpool dressing room after Inter Milan win
This is the equivalent of nine goals in an exhibition match in the Premier League in 2025. This year has been a memorable one for Salah in many ways.
He won a Premier League winners’ medal, the Golden Boot, the Football Writer’s Award, Player of the Year, PFA Player of the Year and a new contract, but was ostracized. But from a performance standpoint, this wasn’t exactly a vintage year.
Still, his presence in the shortlist for the 2025 World Sports Star Award is not surprising. But the absence of a man who has conquered one of the toughest sports is notable.
British people who love sport prefer to vote for cyclists. It’s definitely my vote for BBC Sports Personality of the Year. Chris Hoy, Mark Cavendish, Bradley Wiggins and Geraint Thomas have all won Flagship awards.
But the public will not be able to vote for an athlete whose 2025 merely confirmed what the cycling world already knew: Tadej Pogačar is one of the greatest of all time. He could end up being the GOAT.
In 2025, he won the European Championship and the World Championship. Of the five Monuments, one-day cycling classics, he won three and finished on the podium in the other two. He also won the prestigious eight-day Critérium du Dauphine.
And, of course, he completely dominated the Tour de France, winning his fourth yellow jersey. Slovenians are really great sportsmen. The same applies to the men and women on the World Sports Star shortlist.
Alongside Salah are WSL Player of the Year Mariona Cladenti, baseball phenomenon Shohei Ohtani, three-division world boxing champion Terrence Crawford, Swedish pole vaulter Armand Duplantis, and American athlete Sidney McLaughlin-Levrone, who has established herself as the best female 400m hurdler of all time. That’s a list.
Voting for the award is open until December 14, and the British public may decide to give Salah an early Christmas present. But it’s not a real World Sports Star award if you’re not allowed to vote for Tadej Pogačar.
