Conor Bradley overlooked Mohamed Salah when casting his vote for the FIFA Best Men’s XI this year, while the Egyptian forward himself snubbed Arne Slot in the Best Manager category.
The FIFA Best Awards, regarded as the second most prestigious individual honours in football behind the Ballon d’Or, were held earlier this month.
Ousmane Dembele won the Men’s Best Player award following an outstanding year with Paris Saint-Germain and France, with Lamine Yamal finishing second and Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappé placing third.
Despite finishing fourth in this year’s Ballon d’Or rankings, Salah was left out of the FIFA Best Men’s XI.
The Liverpool forward played a pivotal role in the club’s Premier League title-winning campaign last season, registering 29 goals and 18 assists in 38 appearances.
However, voting took place last month, and Salah’s slower start to the 2025/26 campaign may have influenced the outcome.
Salah has recorded four goals and three assists in the league this season and has been benched for Liverpool’s last four Premier League matches.
Cole Palmer was selected ahead of him on the right flank, despite contributing fewer goals and assists than Salah last season, according to the Liverpool Echo.
FIFA’s transparent voting process revealed that six Liverpool players participated as national team captains.
While Salah did not vote for himself, Bradley was the only Reds representative not to select him as his top choice, instead naming Yamal as his player of the year and placing Salah second.
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