Mo Salah will leave Liverpool after nine years at the end of this season, with his bombshell announcement sparking a debate over his place among the best players in Premier League history
Mohamed Salah celebrate after scoring a Liverpool goal
Mohamed Salah is preparing to say goodbye to Liverpool(Image: Alex Pantling - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
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Jamie Carragher has claimed that Mo Salah will go down ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo in the list of Premier League greats. Salah, 33, confirmed in a bombshell announcement on Monday that he'll leave Liverpool at the end of this season.
The Egypt captain has spent nine years with the Reds, lifting every major trophy available including the Champions League and two Premier League titles. Although Salah has suffered a decline this season and his behaviour off the pitch has seen him criticised by the likes of Carragher, he'll be remembered as a club legend at Anfield and a great of the Premier League.
Having struggled at Chelsea in the early part of his career, Salah truly announced himself to English football by eclipsing ex-Manchester United star Ronaldo's record of 31 league goals in his first season at Liverpool. That's part of why Carragher reckons that the Liverpool icon should rank higher than Ronaldo and only behind a certain Thierry Henry.
"In the pantheon of overseas attacking players to have excelled in England, only Thierry Henry eclipses Salah's output and consistency," Carragher wrote in his column for the Telegraph.
"While many will argue the merits of players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Eden Hazard, Gianfranco Zola, Dennis Bergkamp or Eric Cantona, none of them produced the same devastating numbers as consistently, season-after-season, as the Egyptian.
Mohamed Salah celebrates scoring a goal for Liverpool
Mohamed Salah broke Cristiano Ronaldo's goalscoring record(Image: Jan Kruger/Getty Images)
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Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates scoring a goal for Manchester United
Salah and Ronaldo's Premier League careers are often compared(Image: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
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"Ronaldo's time at Manchester United, both initially and upon his return, was either side of his absolute, Real Madrid-peak years. Salah edges ahead of him when judging strictly on Premier League performance and impact. In an all-time Premier League XI, Salah is an automatic inclusion in the front three alongside Henry and Ronaldo."
Despite their shared status as Liverpool legends, Carragher and Salah have clashed down the years, often via social media. In December, Carragher accused the forward of trying to get Reds manager Arne Slot sacked, labelling an explosive interview which Salah did after being left on the bench 'a disgrace'.
Jamie Carragher
Jamie Carragher has had numerous run-ins with Mohamed Salah(Image: Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images)
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But as Salah prepares to bid farewell to Anfield in May, with Liverpool's final game being at home to Brentford, Carragher has heaped praise on the 33-year-old. "Nothing impresses me more in the game than world-class footballers who possess that desire never to miss a game," he added.
"In Salah's case, he would visibly sulk if he was substituted and had to miss even a single minute of action. Such demonstrations of petulance were often frowned upon by others.
"But give me the star who can't stand sitting on the bench or in the stands over those who cannot get off the pitch quick enough, clutching a slight niggle. That hunger and resilience is a mark of true greatness."
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