Cristiano Ronaldo slipping out of Ballon d'Or race after Liverpool Carabao Cup success

Cristiano Ronaldo is slipping out of the running for the Ballon d'Or following Liverpool's success in the League Cup final this weekend.

Before the Wembley showpiece, the Manchester United star was among the favourites for the top award with the bookies alongside Mohamed Salah. Both men were priced at 6/1 just behind PSG's Lionel Messi and Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski who were at 5/1.

However, after the Reds lifted the trophy following a thrilling penalty shootout against Chelsea, Salah's stock has risen among punters and the Egyptian has now become the sole favourite for the award at 4/1. Ronaldo, meanwhile, has suffered a dramatic drop in his chances of winning the coveted award.

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The 37-year-old put in a below-par performance against Watford on Saturday which led to a stalemate with the relegation-threatened side. This, combined with further silverware for Salah, has seen him drop to 10/1 with BetVictor.

Messi and Lewandowski both remain at 5/1 while the Argentine's domestic teammate, Kylian Mbappe, has moved to 8/1. Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne and Borussia Dortmund's Erling Haaland sit at 12/1, just behind Ronaldo while Neymar appears to be the outsider for the Ballon d'Or at 20/1.

Ronaldo may feel slightly hard done by to sit so far below Messi in the odds for the award having scored 15 goals and three assists in 31 games for United this season. Messi, on the other hand, has only managed seven goals and 11 assists in his 23 appearances in Ligue 1.

The two legends of the game have dominated the competition since 2008 with Luka Modric in 2018 being the only man beside the pair to win the Ballon d'Or.