After Mohamed Salah signed a new contract to extend his stay at Liverpool, football writer Alex Keble analyses whether the 32-year-old can break even more records.
Salah has already secured his status as a Liverpool legend. Now is the time to stake his claim as the club’s greatest player ever – and the best the Premier League has ever seen.
Another two seasons at Anfield opens up exciting new possibilities for Salah, who has the chance to leave England as the Premier League’s all-time leading goalscorer and its second-most creative player.
Salah already a Premier League legend
Ever since he exploded into life with a then Premier League record 32 goals in his debut season at Liverpool in 2017/18, Salah has been a Premier League icon.
That record alone would have imprinted him in the competition’s history, but there was, of course, so much more to come.
From historic goals and clutch moments too frequent to count, to being the key player as Liverpool won their first Premier League title in 30 years in 2019/20, Salah deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Alan Shearer, Thierry Henry and Wayne Rooney.
And he’s only getting better. Salah is on track for his best Premier League season, both for goals and assists, thanks in part to his late-career development of creativity via that now-trademark outside of the boot pass.
Salah's PL attacking stats in the last five seasons
| Season | Goals + assists | Goals + assists/90 |
|---|---|---|
| 2020/21 | 27 | 0.8 |
| 2021/22 | 36 | 1.2 |
| 2022/23 | 31 | 0.9 |
| 2023/24 | 28 | 1.0 |
| 2024/25 | 44 | 1.5 |
In fact, at his current rate (0.94 goals per 90 and 0.60 assists per 90), Salah is on track to finish on 36 Premier League goals and 22 Premier League assists, the former a joint-record with Erling Haaland and the latter an outright record.
It’s this acceleration over time that puts Salah in line to become one of, if not, the Premier League's greatest player ever.
Does Salah have time to overtake Shearer’s record?
Already sixth on the all-time scorer list, Salah has Shearer in his sights.
If we assume Salah will continue to score at his current rate of 0.94 goals per 90 over the final 14 matches of this season, then return to his eight-year average of 0.69 over the next two seasons (playing, as to his average, 33 matches per season), then his projected total puts him 22 short of Shearer.
We have also included Haaland, whose rate of 0.99 goals per 90 is projected to see him crash the top 10 by that date.
PL all-time top scorers projection by end of 26/27
| Player | Goals |
|---|---|
| Alan Shearer | 260 |
| Mohamed Salah | 238 |
| Harry Kane | 213 |
| Wayne Rooney | 208 |
| Andrew Cole | 187 |
| Sergio Aguero | 184 |
| Frank Lampard | 177 |
| Thierry Henry | 175 |
| Erling Haaland | 166 |
Even if Salah was to carry on at this season’s rate of 0.94 goals per 90, across 33 matches in each of the next two seasons, he would still only hit 252, eight short of Shearer.
Salah, then, would need a third season – taking him to one month short of his 36th birthday – to become the all-time top scorer.
Not that he needs it to be declared one of, if not the, best player we’ve seen.
Salah can also enter the top two for assists – and become the best goal contributor ever.
His creativity has been underrated throughout his career, but his assist figures have improved over time, coming to the fore in 2024/25, with 17 so far, as he closes in on the single-season record of 20 assists jointly held by Henry and Kevin De Bruyne.
Salah is already 10th in the all-time list, and climbing.
Projecting forward to May 2027 – assuming his 0.60 assists per 90 holds this season and becomes the new normal, and assuming Salah plays 33 matches a season over the next two campaigns - he will move up to second in the all-time table.
PL all-time top assists projection to end of 26/27
| Player | Assists |
| Ryan Giggs | 162 |
|---|---|
| Mohamed Salah | 131 |
| Kevin De Bruyne | 122 |
| Cesc Fabregas | 111 |
| Wayne Rooney | 103 |
| Frank Lampard | 102 |
| Dennis Bergkamp | 94 |
| David Silva | 93 |
| Steven Gerrard | 92 |
| James Milner | 89 |
Ryan Giggs’ record looks safe, although when we look at the combined goals and assists record, both current and projected, then Salah looks set to be remembered near the top of the pile.
Salah is currently sixth and 62 goal involvements short of Shearer. With the contract extension, that will surely change.
Most PL goals and assists combined
| Season | Goals + assists | Goals | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alan Shearer | 324 | 260 | 64 |
| Wayne Rooney | 311 | 208 | 103 |
| Frank Lampard | 279 | 177 | 102 |
| Ryan Giggs | 271 | 109 | 162 |
| Mohamed Salah | 262 | 179 | 83 |
| Andrew Cole | 260 | 187 | 73 |
| Harry Kane | 259 | 213 | 46 |
| Thierry Henry | 249 | 175 | 74 |
| Sergio Aguero | 231 | 184 | 47 |
| Teddy Sheringham | 221 | 146 | 75 |
On that top 10 list, only Sergio Aguero (1.05) and Henry (1.05) average a higher goals and assists per 90 than Salah’s 1.01.
If he keeps that up over the rest of this season and over two 33-match campaigns to come, Salah will easily move into first.
PL all-time goals and assists projection to end of 26/27
| Player | Goals + assists |
| Mohamed Salah | 343 |
|---|---|
| Alan Shearer | 321 |
| Wayne Rooney | 311 |
| Frank Lampard | 279 |
| Ryan Giggs | 271 |
Numbers aren’t everything.
Salah’s genius over the last eight years is enough to ensure his place as a Premier League legend.
But the numbers can help convince any doubters.
And if Salah continues at the same pace over the next two seasons he will, statistically, be the best forward the Premier League has ever seen.
