Liverpool Star Mohamed Salah Admits He Was 'Shocked' At Finishing Seventh In 2021 Ballon d'Or Rankings

“No-one in the world expected that I would be seventh, but that’s what happened.”

The 29-year-old Egypt winger insisted that there is no “conspiracy theory” surrounding his omission from the FIFA World XI.

“I do not feel the conspiracy theory, but there may be inaccurate choices, and there are many countries which aren’t popular with football knowledge and so far from it,” Salah said.

“I do not know their choices based on what, but I do not believe in the conspiracy theory.

“I don’t have the feeling that there is anything personal against me specifically in the FIFA choices, but this is the reality we are dealing with.”

Salah, whose Liverpool future remains uncertain, candidly admitted that he is thrilled with what he has achieved in his career at club level and on the international stage.

“There are no words to describe how I feel about people’s positive comments towards me or to be a reason for their hope,” he said.

“Today, if I died, it would be after achieving a lot of things that I wanted to achieve.

“People don’t realise how happy I am when I come to play for the national team, it’s an honour for me to wear the national team shirt.

“The most important match I played in my life was the qualifying match for the World Cup 2018 against Congo, my happiness after the winning goal was indescribable.”