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Jamie Carragher has released a statement on social media over his comments about the importance of the Africa Cup of Nations.

The Liverpool great flippantly commented that the continental competition isn’t a ‘major tournament’ and has plenty of knockbacks.

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Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah has twice gone close to winning AFCONCredit: AFP

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But Carragher doesn't rate the competitionCredit: Sky

Carragher was discussing Mohamed Salah’s form at the time following another goal and assist in a 2-0 win over Manchester City when the subject switched to his Ballon d’Or chances.

The Egyptian is currently the betting favourite to claim football’s biggest individual prize, having never finished higher than fifth previously.

On top of that, the 32-year-old wasn’t even in the 30-man shortlist in 2024, and finished 11th in 2023.

Attempting to explain why he’d never been higher, Carragher said: “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.

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“I think it’s either the Champions League or the major tournament [that wins it], the player who excels in that, like Vinicius Jr and Kylian Mbappe right now.

Micah Richards then had a quick input, saying: “I’ll just say, AFCON is a major tournament.

“A lot of people at home will say they’re taking that seriously.

AFCON is a major tournament, just so you know.”

Daniel Sturridge, a former teammate of Carragher's at Liverpool, agreed with his fellow ex-Manchester City player, adding: “It’s a fact, it’s a fact.

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“If you win the Euros or the Copa America it’s deemed to be big, so AFCON is on the same level.”

Carragher muttered ‘oh my god’ during the debate, and looked to the camera in shock.

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Salah was beaten to AFCON by former Liverpool teammate Sadio Mane and then finished second in the 2022 Ballon d'Or votingCredit: GETTY

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There's certainly an argument that Mane's AFCON heroics helped his case

However, he may well be shocked by the criticism he’s received, with Salah’s former Egypt teammate Ahmed Elmohamady taking to social media to voice his opinion.

“Jamie Carragher doesn’t know what major tournaments are because he never won one,” the former Sunderland, Hull and Aston Villa right-back wrote. 

“AFCON is a Major Tournament.

So proud to have won it twice.”

Elmohamady won the continental competition in 2008 and 2010, with Salah not featuring in those triumphs before twice losing in finals in 2017 and 2021.

Carragher never reached a final with England, although he did win the Champions League with Liverpool in 2005.

The pundit has also clashed with Salah before due to his opinions, and done the same with Rio Ferdinand, who has chimed in on this debate too.

What are the lyrics to Liverpool fans' chant for ‘The Egyptian King’ Mo Salah?

Speaking on his YouTube channel, the former Manchester United defender said: “That comment is representative of the majority of people out there, I think it’s an ignorant thought process. 

“If you go to Didier Drogba [Samuel] Eto’o, [Riyad] Mahrez, Salah now, they’ll say ‘we have to win this’ yes it doesn’t get backed like the Euros investment wise, but that doesn’t mean you have to devalue it, it’s a continent of huge power that contributes to European football massively. 

“It should be respected more than it is.

I understand what Jamie's saying but I don’t agree with it, that’s a majority view and it’s not right.

“What Jamie's saying, and he’s right, if Salah won AFCON, it would have no bearing on anyone’s voting on the Ballon d’Or and that’s wrong, that was one of the parts he was arguing about.”

Carragher called Ferdinand a 'clown' in response to this criticism on Instagram and has taken to his X account to address the criticism as a whole, admitting his comments were 'clumsy'.

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Carragher has had to respond after another kerfuffle involving Salah

"The point I was trying to make yesterday was that Mo Salah is at a disadvantage playing for Egypt in terms of him winning the Ballon d'Or," he began.

"If Salah had an average season at LFC but won the AFCON & was MVP [most valuable player] I don’t think he would win the Balon d'Or because I don’t think AFCON carries the weight of other tournaments.

"But if Mbappe had an average season at Real Madrid but won the World Cup/Euros he would still have a great opportunity.

"It’s not just about certain tournaments, [Andriy] Shevchenko (Ukraine) [Robert] Lewandowski (Poland) were never going to win the World Cup/Euros to help their case for the prize.

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

Addressing Mane's runners-up finish in the Ballon d'Or rankings, he continued: "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.

"It’s not disrespectful if I feel the WC/Euros/CP are better tournaments it’s just my opinion when I watch them.

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

He then addressed the look to camera he made and why he'd taken to social media to respond.

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"The face I pulled when Micah interjected was nothing to do with the merits of the tournament," he said.
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