Football writer Alex Keble analyses Mohamed Salah's record-breaking numbers this season and discusses whether we are witnessing the best individual season in Premier League history.
Another piece of magic, another assist, another clutch moment to add to the collection in the most astonishing of Premier League seasons for Liverpool star Salah.
There have been more high-profile interventions this season, and more obvious signs of the Egyptian's genius, but the shimmy, the drag of the ball, and the subtle outside-of-the-boot pass that set up Alexis Mac Allister’s goal against Newcastle United on Wednesday was up there with Salah’s greatest moments this season.
There have been plenty to choose from, but the swagger in that assist said it all: Salah is at the top of his game - and on top of the world.
He currently tops the Premier League charts for goals and assists, with 25 and 17 respectively.
Combined, his 42 goal involvements is already his joint-most in a campaign and just two short of Erling Haaland’s record of 44 set in 2022/23.
At this rate, Salah will beat that involvements record, get close to Haaland’s goalscoring record of 36, and obliterate the assists record jointly held by Kevin De Bruyne and Thierry Henry, who provided 20 each in 2002/03 and 2019/20 respectively.
"Mo Salah is having a Messi and Ronaldo season," Jamie Carragher said on Sky Sports recently.
"This is going to end up being the greatest season we've seen from an individual, I have no doubt about that."
The numbers certainly back up that opinion.
Will Salah break the goals record?
Haaland’s record looked like it would stand for a long time. It could fall within two years of being set.
Salah’s 25 goals in 28 matches comes at a rate of 0.89 goals per game, putting him on course to hit 34 this season, just short of Haaland’s Premier League record – and that’s if he plays every match, which isn’t necessarily likely if Liverpool wrap up the title early and rest players if they go deep in the UEFA Champions League.
But Salah will be desperate to break records and play in every match, so you never know, he might just do it.
At his current scoring rate he’d only be two goals away from Haaland's record, meaning one burst above the mean could be enough to get the extra three goals required.
Perhaps matches against Southampton (H), West Ham United (H) and Leicester City (A) will provide Salah with the chance to rack up high scores and reel Haaland in.
At the very least Salah stands a chance of equalising his personal best of 32 goals which, in 2017/18, felt unsurpassable.
Most goals in a PL season
| Player | Season | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Erling Haaland | 2022/23 | 36 |
| Andrew Cole | 1993/94* | 34 |
| Alan Shearer | 1994/95* | 34 |
| Mohamed Salah | 2017/18 | 32 |
| Luis Suarez | 2013/14 | 31 |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | 2007/08 | 31 |
*42-match season
It beggars belief that Salah might hit that total again – and set a new assist record in the same year.
By how much could Salah break the assist record?
The assist record seems certain to fall. Salah’s current average of 0.61 per game puts him on track to get 23 assists by May, three more than the current record holders Henry and De Bruyne.
Just a few years ago it would have seemed absurd for Salah to overtake such creative greats of the sport, but over the last couple of seasons he has refined his playing style significantly.
These days, the sight of Salah’s trademark crosses with the outside of the boot or clever through-balls from the right are just as common as his shots.
It’s not unheard of for older players to adapt; to begin creating chances as their speed drops. But it is unheard of for a player to add playmaking to their game without losing any of their razor edge in scoring goals.
History will scarcely remember the old Salah, not when he takes the assist record – and, in the process, moves up to seventh in the all-time list.
Premier League all-time assists
| Player | Assists | Matches |
| Ryan Giggs | 162 | 632 |
|---|---|---|
| Kevin De Bruyne | 118 | 278 |
| Cesc Fabregas | 111 | 350 |
| Wayne Rooney | 103 | 491 |
| Frank Lampard | 102 | 609 |
| Dennis Bergkamp | 94 | 315 |
| David Silva | 93 | 309 |
| Steven Gerrard | 92 | 504 |
| James Milner | 89 | 637 |
| Mohamed Salah | 86* | 291 |
*As of 28 February 2025
However, looking back at the current record holders, after Matchweek 27, De Bruyne had 16 assists in 2019/20 and Henry had 18 in 2002/03.
Both players slowed down significantly in the final straight. Salah, on 17, will have to buck the trend. Whether or not he does may come down to Arne Slot’s selection policy once the title is sewn up.
Salah’s goal involvements make him Ballon d’Or favourite
Even if he falls just short of the assist record and the goal record, Salah will undoubtedly break the Premier League record for combined goals and assists – and top the charts across Europe’s big five leagues.
Haaland holds the Premier League record of 44 goal involvements and that, surely, will fall any day now with Salah on 42 and projected to hit a ridiculous 57 at the current rate.
But even if Salah was to stop today, he would still remain top of the charts in England and abroad this season.
His closest competitor across the big five leagues, Harry Kane, is a full 14 goal involvements behind him.
Most goal involvements in top five leagues 24/25
| Player | Total |
| Mohamed Salah | 42 |
|---|---|
| Harry Kane | 28 |
| Omar Marmoush | 27 |
| Mateo Retegui | 25 |
| Alexander Isak | 24 |
It’s almost unthinkable, then, that Salah won’t win the rare hat-trick of Player of the Year, Golden Boot, and Golden Playmaker.
And that, surely, lines him up to lift the Ballon d’Or.
Right now, there are simply no rivals for the gong, although that could change when the Champions League reaches its conclusion on 31 May.
Slot seems to feel the same way.
"I think, in general, someone who wins the Ballon d'Or needs to win something [with their team] as well," he told Liverpool’s official website this week.
"If we, as a team, can win something, he will have a far better chance to win an individual prize like the Ballon d'Or."
That might just be the Premier League, which looks to be on its way to Anfield. But with Salah in the side, there’s no reason to doubt Liverpool can go all the way in Europe, too.
Plenty more records on the horizon
By then, who knows how many records Salah will hold?
He is already the first player to have provided 40+ goal involvements in two separate Premier League seasons, and the first player to score and assist in 11 different matches in one of Europe's big five leagues since Lionel Messi with Barcelona in 2014/15.
Salah holds the record for most goal involvements in away games, his 27 putting him six clear of Andrew Cole’s tally in 1993/94, and he is the first player in Premier League history to get to double figures for both goals and assists before Christmas.
Most away goal involvements in a PL season
| Player | Season | Total |
| Mohamed Salah (LIV) | 2024/25 | 27 |
|---|---|---|
| Andrew Cole (NEW) | 1993/94 | 21 |
| Luis Suarez (LIV) | 2013/14 | 20 |
| Chris Sutton (NOR) | 1993/94 | 20 |
| Alexis Sanchez (ARS) | 2016/17 | 20 |
More is to follow. Salah needs just one more away goal to become the outright leading scorer in a single season behind Harry Kane in 2022/23 and Kevin Phillips for Sunderland in 1999/00 (16).
He also needs just one more away assist to overtake Cesc Fabregas in 2014/15 for most away assists in a campaign (currently 11), and needs six more goals to move up into fourth in the all-time goalscorers list, behind only Wayne Rooney, Kane, and Alan Shearer.
But the most important record of all, no doubt, will be playing in the first Liverpool team to lift the Premier League trophy in front of supporters, given their previous title was won in empty stadiums during the COVID-19 pandemic.
If he can finish that job, Salah can surely stake his claim for the best individual season in Premier League history – and a Ballon d’Or to go with it.
