'I should have been tidier' - Jamie Carragher clarifies 'clumsy' AFCON remarks after online backlash while 'banging the drum' for Liverpool's Mohamed Salah to land historic Ballon d'Or

The debate arose when Carragher, while discussing Salah’s chances of winning football’s most prestigious individual award, appeared to downplay the significance of AFCON. His remarks prompted immediate backlash from various figures in the footballing world, including former players like Rio Ferdinand and African football legends including John Obi Mikel.

Carragher addressed the issue in greater depth during his latest appearance on CBS Sports'Champions League coverage. He explained to host Kate Abdo that he never intended to be dismissive or disrespectful towards AFCON or any other tournament.

He stated: "What I would say is you know me better than anyone on this show and I’ve got very strong opinions on the game, I love debate and that will never change. But what I never want to be described as as a pundit would be ignorant or disrespectful, so that was never my aim, whether that's to a club, a player, a country, a continent, an international tournament, whatever that may be. What I would say is, where I got it wrong was I was clumsy with my language, in describing AFCON as not a major tournament.

“I was trying to explain the merits of Mo Salah winning the Ballon d’Or and I felt, or feel, that not just AFCON, but the Asia Games or Gold Cup, not so much the Copa America, but there are five more competitions out there besides the World Cup that are for their continent a major tournament. Some of them don’t resonate with people who vote for the Ballon d’Or and that was not an opinion, that was a fact in terms of looking at who won the Ballon d’Or over the last 40 or 50 years.”

Carragher’s argument does hold some ground as only one African player, George Weah, has ever won the Ballon d’Or - an achievement dating back to 1995. However, Sadio Mane came close to winning in 2022 after leading Senegal to an AFCON title, finishing as runner-up. This year, Salah is regarded as a strong contender for the award given his scintillating form with Liverpool as the Reds chase silverware on multiple fronts. Carragher remains determined to see the Egyptian recognised for his form but admitted that he will be more careful with his words in future discussions.

He added: “Yes I’ve been banging the drum for Salah to be the first African player to win the Ballon d’Or since George Weah in the 90s and I should’ve been a lot tidier with my language around that so yes that’s something I’ll look at. But you look at the Euros, where it’s at right now and the competitions and some of them resonate with the Ballon d’Or voters whether that be journalists, managers, national captains.

“One of the reasons might be because, let’s not forget, the Ballon d’Or was the European footballer of the year, so maybe there is a bias towards the Euros or European football. It definitely is not my aim to offend people, I know I’ve done that in the past in different guises about different players or teams, but that was certainly not the case, and hopefully now that’s addressed it.”

Salah has been in outstanding form, scoring 30 goals in 39 appearances this season as he continues to break records for Arne Slot’s team. Liverpool's 'Egyptian King' will be hoping to strengthen his Ballon d’Or case when Liverpool take on Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Wednesday night in Paris - a match that could further elevate his standing among football’s elite.