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Debating Mo Salah's chances of winning a Ballon d'Or, Carragher said after the Reds' 2-0 win at Man City: "I think the problem [is] the fact he's with Egypt, and he's probably not playing in the major tournament as such or maybe got a great chance of winning, I think it's either the Champions League or the major tournament [that influences who wins the Ballon d'Or]."

Carragher's comments have triggered a widespread backlash from pundits and fans in the world of football alike.

And Ferdinand became the latest high-profile figure to take aim at Carragher after former Sky presenter Richard Keys labelled the ex-defender "unforgivably ignorant".

Speaking on his Rio Presents podcast, Ferdinand said: "I think that comment is representative of the majority of the people out there.

If Salah had an average season at LFC but won the AFCON & was MVP I don’t think he would win the Balon d’or [sic].

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"Because I don’t think AFCON carries the weight of other tournaments.

I don’t think it’s controversial at all really it’s just a fact.

"I know Mane came 2nd a few years back after winning the tournament but that alone wouldn’t have got him to that position, it was LFC being two games away from a quadruple that played a big role also.

Saying it wasn’t a major competition was clumsy but I think most people watching could understand the point I was trying to make.

"The face I pulled when Micah interjected was nothing to do with the merits of the tournament, I just knew as soon as he did what the reaction was going to be