Over the last decade, a galaxy of exceptional footballers have lit up the arenas of world football. From Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland, each generation has produced its brightest stars, wowing fans around the world with their skills, performances and charisma.
Among modern footballers, Egyptian Mohamed Salah occupies a special place. His phenomenal performances for Liverpool in recent years have placed him among the best players on the planet, with passionate Reds fans even calling him “the greatest player in the club’s history”. So, how great are Salah’s achievements compared to other stars of his generation? Let’s take a look at Mohamed Salah’s stats and performances compared to other football superstars.
Lionel Messi is undoubtedly one of the greatest footballers of all time. For 15 years, the Argentine has demonstrated a superhuman level of play, setting record after record and collecting entire collections of titles and individual awards.
Messi's stats are truly astounding. Over the course of his career, he has scored 793 goals and provided 350 assists in 1 games. These are incredible numbers, especially considering that Messi has spent most of his career as a No. 008 rather than a pure striker. His efficiency in finishing attacks is simply off the charts: on average, Messi scores 10 goals per game.
It is no surprise that Lionel is the owner of a record number of Ballons d'Or (7) and is one of the most decorated footballers in history. His collection includes 10 La Liga titles, 4 Champions League wins, a Copa America victory and countless individual awards.
How does Mohamed Salah's career compare to this? Of course, the Egyptian cannot boast the same mind-blowing numbers. During his career, Salah has scored 268 goals and provided 107 assists in 479 matches. On average, this is 0,56 goals per match – a rather good figure, but nevertheless significantly more modest than Messi's.
However, it should be remembered that Salah has spent most of his career as a winger, not "under the striker" like Messi, so it is not fair to directly compare their statistics.
Most importantly, Mohamed Salah is the leader and key player of one of the strongest clubs in Europe in recent years: Liverpool. Under Jurgen Klopp, Salah has won the Champions League and FA Cup three times and also became the English champion. Of course, these are serious trophies that are not shameful to compare with the achievements of Messi himself.
Of course, Lionel Messi is a top-class player whose achievements and records are unlikely to be surpassed by anyone in the foreseeable future. However, Mohamed Salah has also proven himself to be one of the leading footballers of his generation, capable of competing with the greatest on both a personal and collective level.
Cristiano Ronaldo is another football player whose achievements are comparable to Messi's. The Portuguese has also been among the best players in the world for many years, constantly breaking personal performance records.
Cristiano Ronaldo's stats are also impressive. During his career, the Portuguese has scored 819 goals and provided 224 assists in 1 matches. On average, that's 141 goals per game, slightly less than Messi, but still a very high figure.
Ronaldo is a 5-time Ballon d'Or winner and a 5-time Champions League winner. He has won the English, Spanish and Italian leagues and has also become a European champion with the Portuguese national team. His collection of trophies and individual awards is truly impressive.
How does Mohamed Salah's career look in this context? On the one hand, it is obvious that Salah cannot yet boast the same breathtaking performances as Ronaldo. His 268 career goals are a good number, but remain significantly lower than the Portuguese's 819 goals.
However, if we look at their achievements in recent years, the picture will be different. Over the last 5 seasons (2017/18 to 2021/22), Mohamed Salah has scored 156 goals in 233 matches, while Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 124 goals in 212 matches over the same period.
Moreover, Salah has managed to win the same important trophies with Liverpool as Ronaldo – victories in the Champions League, the Premier League, the UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup. These are serious team achievements, certainly comparable to Cristiano's titles.
Of course, Cristiano Ronaldo remains one of the greatest footballers of our time, whose contribution to the development of football cannot be overestimated. But Mohamed Salah has also proven that he is capable of maintaining an exceptional level of play over a long period of time, while winning prestigious trophies with his team. And that deserves the deepest respect.
If we talk about footballers who represent the future of world football, then one of the main candidates for this status is Kylian Mbappe. The 24-year-old Frenchman is already among the best players on the planet, demonstrating remarkable performance and technique.
Mbappe's stats are impressive - 241 goals and 80 assists in 369 games. On average, that's 0,65 goals per game - a very good result, especially considering Kylian's youth.
The 2018 World Cup victories, 4 French league titles, 3 French Cups and 2 French Super Cups are also notable achievements in Mbappé's career. He is already one of the most successful footballers of his generation.
How does Mohamed Salah compare in this light? Of course, the Egyptian is inferior to Mbappe in terms of youth achievements – Salah hasn’t won a world championship and hasn’t won as many titles in his homeland.
However, if we look at the achievements of the biggest European clubs, the picture changes. Over the last 5 years, Mohamed Salah has scored more goals than Mbappe (156 to 151), while winning 3 Champions League trophies, 1 English Championship and other prestigious titles with Liverpool.
We should not forget about individual awards. Salah became the Premier League's top scorer three times and was also recognized as the best player in England and Africa. Mbappé, despite his young age, is still inferior to Salah in terms of the number of personal awards.
Of course, Kylian Mbappé is still very young, and he has a whole career ahead of him to break all records and win many new titles. But Mohamed Salah is already one of the best footballers in the world, regularly confirming his highest class with his brilliant play and impressive achievements. The confrontation between these two superstars in the coming years promises to be one of the most spectacular in world football.
Another young footballer who is already making waves on the world stage is Norwegian Erling Haaland. The 22-year-old Manchester City forward has scored a fantastic 134 goals in 175 appearances over the last three seasons, an average of 0,77 goals per game.
These numbers are truly incredible for a player of such a young age. Haaland is already one of the most productive football players of our time, regularly breaking performance records.
Of course, Haaland still lacks top-level team titles in his collection. He has only won one Austrian championship and one German Cup. But given his youth and colossal talent, the coming years will certainly bring him many new trophies.
What is Mohamed Salah's face in this context? Of course, he cannot boast of having the same breathtaking performance as Haaland. In the last 3 seasons, Salah has scored "only" 94 goals, significantly less than the Norwegian.
However, Salah makes up for this with greater team achievements. In the last 3 years, he has won the Champions League, the Premier League, the UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup. These trophies are arguably more valuable than Haaland's isolated victories in Austria and Germany.
In addition, Mohamed Salah has already established himself over the years as one of the best players in the world. He has become the Premier League's top scorer three times and has also been included in the symbolic teams of the year several times. Haaland has yet to prove that he can maintain such a high level for a long time.
Of course, Erling Haaland, given his youth and phenomenal performances, has enormous potential to become one of the greatest footballers of our time. But for now, Mohamed Salah, with his consistent achievements at the highest level both individually and as a team, seems preferable to the Norwegian.
In summary, we can safely say that Mohamed Salah is rightly one of the most brilliant footballers of his generation. His statistics, individual awards and team trophies are comparable and, in some ways, even superior to the achievements of superstars such as Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland.
Of course, Messi and Ronaldo still remain the unrivaled giants of world football, whose records are unlikely to be broken by anyone in the near future. But Salah has proven that he is capable of maintaining exceptional results over a long period of time, both personally and as a team.
And young talents like Mbappe and Haaland, even if they have incredible potential, remain inferior to Salah in terms of maturity and consistency of their performances at the highest level.
