Mohamed Salah’s nine-year spell at Liverpool has left behind a remarkable record of goals, assists, trophies and individual awards. But one question continues to divide football fans: is Mohamed Salah the greatest forward in Premier League history?
The Egyptian arrived at Liverpool from Roma in 2017 with plenty to prove after an unsuccessful first spell in the Premier League with Chelsea. What followed was one of the most consistent attacking careers the competition has seen.
By the time his Liverpool career ended in 2026, Salah had scored 193 Premier League goals in 328 appearances, while contributing 94 assists. Only Alan Shearer, Harry Kane and Wayne Rooney had scored more Premier League goals.
But numbers alone cannot settle the debate
Salah’s extraordinary Liverpool record
Salah immediately made an impact after joining Liverpool.
During his first Premier League season in 2017/18, he scored 32 goals in 36 league appearances, setting a new record for goals in a 38-game Premier League season at the time.
His consistency was perhaps even more impressive than his explosive debut campaign.
Across his Liverpool career, Salah became the club’s leading Premier League goalscorer and finished with 191 league goals for Liverpool. He also became Liverpool’s record Premier League assist provider, reaching 93 assists before leaving the club.
His contribution was not limited to scoring.
Salah repeatedly created chances, supplied assists and played a major role in Liverpool’s attacking system.
Four Premier League Golden Boots
One of the strongest arguments for Salah’s greatness is his individual consistency.
He has won the Premier League Golden Boot four times, matching Thierry Henry’s record for the most Golden Boot awards. His wins came in:
- 2017/18
- 2018/19
- 2021/22
- 2024/25
In 2024/25, Salah produced one of the best statistical seasons of his career, recording 29 goals and 18 assists for a total of 47 direct goal involvements. That matched the Premier League record for goal involvements in a single season, previously achieved by Alan Shearer and Andrew Cole.
Even more impressively, Salah reached that total in a 38-match season, while Shearer and Cole achieved their 47 goal involvements during 42-match campaigns.
Salah vs the Premier League’s greatest forwards
The biggest challenge to calling Salah the greatest comes from the legendary forwards who came before him.
Alan Shearer
Shearer remains the Premier League’s all-time leading goalscorer with 260 goals.
His physical strength, finishing ability and consistency made him one of the competition’s greatest strikers.
Salah does not match Shearer’s goal total, but he offers something different: greater versatility from a wide attacking position and a significantly higher level of creative contribution.
Thierry Henry
Henry is probably Salah’s closest comparison.
The Arsenal legend scored 175 Premier League goals and provided 74 assists. Salah has surpassed Henry’s goal tally and matched his four Golden Boots.
Both players combined speed, technical quality, goalscoring and creativity, although Henry played a different role within Arsenal’s attack.
Harry Kane
Kane has scored 213 Premier League goals, putting him second on the all-time scoring list.
His ability to score and create makes him another strong candidate. However, Salah’s record from a wide position gives his statistics a different context.
Sergio Aguero
Aguero scored 184 Premier League goals and won five league titles with Manchester City.
His finishing inside the penalty area was exceptional, but Salah’s longevity and creative numbers give him another argument in this debate.
Salah is more than a goalscorer
One reason the “greatest forward” debate is so interesting is that Salah isn’t simply a traditional striker.
For much of his Liverpool career, he operated from the right wing while regularly cutting inside onto his stronger left foot.
That allowed him to:
- Score from wide positions
- Create chances for teammates
- Attack defenders one-on-one
- Make runs behind defensive lines
- Create space for central forwards
- Contribute assists
- Deliver goals in important matches
Liverpool’s official statistics show that Salah created more open-play chances than any other player during his Liverpool Premier League career.
That combination of scoring and creativity makes his overall attacking contribution particularly impressive.
The trophy argument
Great forwards are often judged not only by individual statistics but also by what they win.
Salah helped Liverpool win two Premier League titles, including the 2019/20 championship and the 2024/25 title. He was also part of the Liverpool side that won the Champions League in 2019.
During his Liverpool career, he also collected domestic and international club trophies, strengthening his case as one of the most successful players of his generation.
So, is Mohamed Salah the greatest Premier League forward?
There is no single objective answer.
If the argument is based purely on Premier League goals, Alan Shearer remains ahead.
If it is based on goals, assists, longevity, consistency and production from a wide position, Salah has an extremely strong case.
His numbers are particularly remarkable because he spent much of his career as a winger rather than a traditional No. 9.
The Premier League itself has highlighted Salah alongside players such as Thierry Henry, Sergio Aguero and Harry Kane when discussing the competition’s greatest forwards. In May 2026, the league noted that Salah had been directly involved in 287 Premier League goals — 193 goals and 94 assists — since joining Liverpool in 2017, more than any other player during that period.
That does not automatically make him the greatest forward ever.
But it makes the argument very difficult to dismiss.
Final verdict
Mohamed Salah deserves to be in the conversation for the greatest forward in Premier League history.
Whether he is No. 1 ultimately depends on what you value most.
Shearer’s record-breaking goalscoring, Henry’s brilliance, Kane’s all-round attacking game and Aguero’s finishing all give them legitimate claims.
But Salah’s combination of goals, assists, longevity, individual awards, trophies and consistency from a wide position makes his case unique.
He may not have every Premier League record. Still, after nine extraordinary seasons at Liverpool, there is little doubt that Mohamed Salah belongs among the greatest forwards the Premier League has ever produced.
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