Liverpool, December 9, 2025 – Mohamed Salah has been named among the six finalists for the prestigious BBC World Sport Star of the Year 2025 award, an honour that recognises the single most outstanding international sporting performance of the past twelve months. The nomination arrives at the most turbulent moment of the Egyptian’s Liverpool career, with the 33-year-old forward currently at the centre of a public falling-out with manager Arne Slot and the club hierarchy.
Salah is the only footballer on a shortlist that includes some of the biggest names across global sport:
- Armand Duplantis (Sweden) – pole vault world-record holder who cleared an astonishing 6.26 m in 2025
- Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (USA) – 400 m hurdles world champion who ran 50.68 seconds in Tokyo
- Terence “Bud” Crawford (USA) – undefeated boxer who unified the welterweight division
- Mariona Caldentey (Spain) – Arsenal and Spain star who scored 19 goals and won the Champions League and WSL Player of the Year
- Shohei Ohtani (Japan) – baseball’s first-ever 50-home-run, 50-stolen-base season and World Series MVP
Public voting opened on Monday and will close at midday on December 14, with the winner announced live on BBC One on December 18.
The BBC highlighted Salah’s extraordinary 2024-25 season as the primary reason for his inclusion: 29 Premier League goals, 18 assists, the Golden Boot, the Playmaker Award, and the Premier League Player of the Season trophy – a unique treble of individual honours. Across all competitions he scored 34 times, powering Liverpool to the league title and cementing his status as one of the greatest players in the club’s history.
Yet the timing of the nomination could hardly be more dramatic. Just 72 hours before the shortlist was revealed, Salah delivered an explosive post-match interview after being left on the bench for the entire 3-3 draw against Leeds United – his third consecutive Premier League game as an unused substitute. In an eight-minute monologue to waiting reporters, he accused the club of “throwing him under the bus,” declared that “someone does not want me here,” and suggested his relationship with manager Arne Slot had broken down irreparably.
The fallout has been swift and severe. Slot admitted he had “no idea” whether Salah would play for Liverpool again, and the Egyptian was omitted entirely from the travelling squad for the Champions League match against Inter Milan. Former Liverpool captain Jamie Carragher called the outburst “disgraceful” and accused Salah of orchestrating the drama for leverage in contract negotiations, while Wayne Rooney described it as “arrogant” and damaging to his legacy.
Inside Anfield, the mood is understood to be toxic. Teammates are said to be frustrated that Salah chose to air grievances publicly during a season in which the team has won only five of its first 15 league games and sits 10th in the table. Reports suggest sporting director Richard Hughes and the ownership group believe the player’s actions have crossed an unacceptable line.
Salah’s current contract runs until the summer of 2027 after he signed a lucrative extension in 2023, but the relationship now appears beyond repair. Saudi Pro League clubs – particularly Al-Nassr and Al-Ahli – are monitoring the situation closely and are prepared to offer packages worth up to £1 million a week. There is also interest from Major League Soccer, with San Diego FC’s Egyptian ownership reportedly keen on a blockbuster move.
For Salah personally, the BBC nomination offers a reminder of just how extraordinary his 2025 has been away from the current storm. He began the calendar year by captaining Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations, scored twice in a famous victory over Senegal, and ended the club season lifting the Premier League trophy as the competition’s outstanding individual performer. Off the pitch, his £1 million donation to Gaza relief efforts through the Mohamed Salah Foundation earned widespread praise.
A victory in the BBC vote would see him join an exclusive club of footballing greats – Pelé, Eusébio, Ronaldo Nazário, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Erling Haaland – who have previously claimed the award. It would also make him the first Egyptian and the first African player ever to win it.
As the votes pour in from around the world, Salah’s future at Liverpool hangs by a thread. The same player who was serenaded as the “Egyptian King” only six months ago now faces the very real prospect of leaving Anfield under a cloud. Whether global recognition can heal the rift – or simply serve as a glittering farewell – remains to be seen.
