Only 29 years old and the name Mohamed Salah is on everyone’s lips, but is the Egyptian king still underrated?
Let’s talk statistics. 152 league games for Liverpool, with 101 goals and 36 assists. In his first season at the club, Salah broke the record for most goals scored in a Premier League season, with 33 goals and 10 assists. In that same season, he tallied up a total of 44 goals and 16 assists across all competitions. He managed to snag the Golden Boot that season.
The next season, Salah did it again, winning the Golden Boot alongside teammate Mane and Arsenal’s Aubamayeng, with 22 goals each. He didn’t manage to pull it off the next two seasons, but he was close. In every season that Salah has played for Liverpool, he has scored more than 20 goals across all competitions, the second player to do so in three consecutive seasons in the club’s history since Ian Rush is 1987.
After his goal against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League group stages on Wednesday morning, Salah became the first Red to score in nine consecutive matches in the club’s history.
Last month, he became the second African player in the Premier League to score 100 goals and his next goal will allow him to overtake Chelsea-great Didier Drogba with 104 goals.
In just four seasons at the club, Mohamed Salah has won the Champions League, Premier League, Super Cup and Club World Cup with Liverpool.
We could go on and on about the number of club and league records that Salah has surpassed but there’s no denying the man knows what he’s doing.
But why does he receive that much criticism and isn’t placed on a pedestal like the other greats? It seems unusual that a player with that much statistical evidence could be underrated.
Former Manchester United player Kleberson says that Salah is not the best player in the world, and he claims that the best player in the world must be “operating at the peak for both his club and country.”
However, former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger disagrees with Kleberson, and declares that Mohamed Salah is in fact, the best striker in the world, with his ability to score incomparable goals. Wenger says his confidence and creativity is a sign of one of the greatest now.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp had nothing but praise for his fellow Red after their win against Watford.
“Top. Come on, we all see it, who’s better than him at this moment?”
It’s no doubt that the Salah debate will always be a controversial one, with the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo still playing in their respective leagues, Mohamed Salah will always be compared to the best. But is he worthy enough of the top spot without receiving an unnecessary amount of criticism?
Whether it be xenophobia, Salah not fitting into the British mainstream media, or just plain biasness, we can all agree, that Mohamed Salah is one of the greatest to ever grace a pitch, and we’re witnessing history in the making.
Want to represent the best striker in league right now? Head over to https://footballstreetwearstore.com/products/mo-salah-baller-bootleg-tee to grab your Mohamed Salah tee, you won’t be disappointed!