Salah surpasses Ronaldo and Henry as the Premier League’s top player.

Mohamed Salah is set to depart Liverpool this summer, leaving behind a legacy as one of the finest players in Premier League history. He may even be regarded as the greatest.

Indeed, Salah has secured his position at the top of the Premier League’s all-time rankings, surpassing legends such as Wayne Rooney, Kevin De Bruyne, Ryan Giggs, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Thierry Henry.

These rankings are often subjective, and the mere notion that Salah ranks above Henry or De Bruyne will likely provoke a mix of indignation and mockery from supporters of Arsenal and Manchester City, respectively. Fans of Manchester United may also reject any suggestion that club icons Rooney, Giggs, and Ronaldo could be overshadowed by any player not associated with Old Trafford.

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To be considered the greatest, a player must have achieved remarkable success—both individually and with their team—over an extended period. While many players can claim to have experienced success and longevity, the elite among them elevate their performance by being a catalyst for their team, providing the X-factor that leads to triumph, and Salah embodies all these qualities.

However, Rooney, De Bruyne, and Henry also possess similar attributes, while Giggs’ greatness stemmed from his ability to perform at an elite level for two decades, securing numerous trophies with United and transitioning from a youthful winger to a creative midfielder. So, how can we distinguish Salah from his legendary peers?

Let’s begin with Rooney. The former United and England forward is frequently overlooked in discussions about the greatest Premier League player, yet he certainly deserves a place among the elite. He was a teenage sensation, debuting for Everton at just 16, before becoming the world’s most expensive teenager when he transferred to United at 18 for £27 million in 2004.

Rooney possessed a complete skill set—speed, strength, tactical awareness, and the ability to score pivotal and spectacular goals. He is one of only three players—alongside Alan Shearer and Harry Kane—to net over 200 Premier League goals and secured 12 major trophies at Old Trafford, including five Premier League titles and a UEFA Champions League. However, despite Rooney’s excellence, he was one of many great players at United, and Sir Alex Ferguson never relied on him as heavily as Liverpool has on Salah. Rooney was arguably United’s most crucial player for a couple of seasons after Ronaldo’s departure in 2009, but Salah has consistently held the top role at Anfield.

What about De Bruyne? For a decade, the Belgian midfielder has been a dominant force in the Premier League with City, amassing 16 major honors, including six league titles and a Champions League. He was undeniably a player that both Manuel Pellegrini and Pep Guardiola found indispensable.

De Bruyne’s tally of 119 Premier League assists is surpassed only by Giggs (162), and he shares the single-season record of 20 with Henry. He has also scored an impressive 72 goals from midfield, including 15 in the 2021-22 season alone. However, De Bruyne’s injury record during his time at City prevents him from being considered the league’s best-ever. Over 10 seasons, he made 285 Premier League appearances for City, missing nearly 100 matches—equivalent to two-and-a-half seasons.

To be deemed the greatest, availability is crucial, and Salah’s fitness has been remarkably consistent since joining Liverpool in 2017. Liverpool has played 335 league matches during this period, with Salah missing only 25, 19 of which were due to his participation in the Africa Cup of Nations with Egypt. Overall, he has missed just six games for Liverpool in nine years due to injury.

Ronaldo was similarly durable during his initial spell at United from 2003-2009, missing only eight games due to injury in that six-year period. He was undeniably a phenomenon during the early stages of his career at United, winning all major honors at least once and arguably serving as the most vital player in Ferguson’s squad during their three consecutive title wins from 2007-2009. However, Ronaldo scored fewer than 100 goals during that first spell, and his true impact was limited to three seasons, which means he lacks the longevity that Salah possesses.

This brings us to Henry, the Arsenal “Invincible” who frequently ranks at the top of “greatest Premier League player ever” lists, and for valid reasons.

Henry was an exceptional goal-scorer—a player characterized by elegance, speed, and audacious flair. He was as composed off the pitch as he was on it, making him a marketing dream, and his carefully crafted image established him as the face of the Premier League in the early 2000s. Although Arsène Wenger’s formidable team included star players like Patrick Vieira, Dennis Bergkamp, Robert Pires, and Ashley Cole, Henry was the unstoppable force that opponents genuinely feared.

With 175 goals in 258 Premier League appearances, Henry surpasses Salah in terms of goals-per-game—Salah has 191 in 323 appearances—but Arsenal was already a strong team when Henry joined. Wenger had guided the Gunners to a league and FA Cup double just a year prior, so the France international seamlessly integrated into a winning setup.

Salah’s situation was different. He joined Liverpool at a time when the club was nearing 30 years without a league title since 1990 and had secured only one trophy—the 2012 League Cup—in the previous decade. He played a pivotal role in leading Liverpool to success, while Henry joined a club that had already achieved that success. Furthermore, when Henry departed the Gunners for Barcelona in 2007, he did so without having won the Champions League—an achievement that Salah, De Bruyne, Ronaldo, and Rooney have all accomplished.

Salah was instrumental in Liverpool’s Champions League triumph in 2019, contributing 10 goals and five assists as Jürgen Klopp’s squad claimed the club’s sixth European title. He was also a key figure in Liverpool’s two Premier League title victories in 2019-20 and 2024-25, now standing alongside Anfield legends Kenny Dalglish and Steven Gerrard among the club’s all-time greats.

Like Henry, Salah has recorded a 20-goal Premier League season five times—only Shearer, Kane, and Sergio Agüero have achieved that more frequently. He is the sole player to win both the PFA Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year awards three times.

In summary: Salah has claimed every significant club honor at least once, he has sustained peak performance at Liverpool for nearly a decade, his fitness record is nearly flawless, and he has consistently scored goals—especially in crucial matches—since arriving at Anfield from AS Roma nearly nine years ago. Thus, when he exits the Premier League stage at the conclusion of this season, Salah will stand alone at the pinnacle of the league’s legends.

He has been that exceptional.