The contract situation with Mo Salah is a cause for great concern among all Liverpool fans, with the brilliant Egyptian having been a key figure at Anfield over the past seven years. He has firmly written himself into the history of the club and despite Liverpool having boasted so many world-class attackers over the years, from Roger Hunt to Ian Rush, and Kenny Dalglish to Kevin Keegan, Mo has serious claims to being the best of the lot.
At the start of December 2024, he claimed another record in Liverpool’s cracking 3-3 draw at St James’ Park. The Reds will have been gutted to have drawn the game, having twice come from behind to take the lead after 83 minutes. The hosts hit back with an equaliser in the 90th minute and in truth, a draw was probably just about the fairest result.
It is a game that Liverpool keeper, Caoimhín Kelleher, will want to forget, with his error leading to Newcastle’s late leveller. However, the match will live long in the memory of all those who watched it and for Salah it will be particularly memorable.
Mo Goals, Mo Assists
— Mohamed Salah (@MoSalah) December 2, 2024
Liverpool’s Egyptian magician netted two goals and created a third with a deft flick to Curtis Jones who finished it in style. Two more goals, one more assist and, crucially for those who like to keep abreast of stats-based records, one more game where he had scored and assisted.
Heading into the clash against Eddie Howe’s men, Salah had scored and assisted in the same game on 36 previous occasions. That meant he was level with Wayne Rooney. Rooney needed almost 500 Premier League matches to hit that tally, whereas Salah had made just 277 appearances in the competition at the time of breaking the record.
Rooney remains the only player in Premier League history to have netted over 200 goals and also recorded over 100 assists (208 and 103 respectively). Salah is the only player with even a chance of breaking that any time soon but he has some way to go, boasting 170 Premier League goals and 77 assists at the time of writing. If the club’s hierarchy decides he is worth a lucrative two-year deal, or more, and he can maintain anything like his current level, then he could easily reach the two landmarks.
However, for now, Mo, and all those who admire his brilliance, can be content with the latest record that he has set. A look at the names on the list of players with the most games where they have scored and assisted at least one goal reads very much like a who’s who of Premier League legends.
Obviously, we know that Rooney, Manchester United’s record goalscorer and, until Harry Kane went past him, England’s top marksman, is second on the list, having achieved the score/assist double in 36 separate Premier League contests. But who else has achieved this feat many times?
Magnificent 7 Score-and-Assist Kings
The table below shows the top seven players in this somewhat nerdy metric, along with their total goals, total assists and career Premier League appearances. Note that of the seven, only Salah and Man City star Kevin De Bruyne are still active (and thus may add or – by the time you read this – may have even already added to their tallies):
| Player | Games “Double” Achieved | Career PL Goals | Career PL Assists | Total PL Appearances |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mo Salah | 37 | 170 | 77 | 277 |
| Wayne Rooney | 36 | 208 | 103 | 491 |
| Thierry Henry | 32 | 175 | 74 | 258 |
| Alan Shearer | 31 | 260 | 64 | 441 |
| Andrew Cole | 28 | 187 | 73 | 414 |
| Kevin De Bruyne | 27 | 70 | 114 | 268 |
| Frank Lampard | 27 | 177 | 102 | 609 |
As we can see, those truly are some of the modern game’s very best attacking players, with De Bruyne’s numbers especially impressive from midfield. In terms of goal involvements per game, Salah is right up there with the greatest players the league has ever seen. As well as getting fans off their seats, or at the very least on the edge of them, Salah delivers where it matters most. We can only cross our fingers that he and the club can agree to a new deal!
A Closer Look at Mo’s Stats
Mo Salah in the @premierleague this season 🔥 pic.twitter.com/PnOtVYjq2F
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) December 1, 2024
Salah is now 32 and will turn 33 in June 2025, which is a big part of why the club are reluctant to offer him a new contract, certainly not one on the sort of money he probably feels he deserves. Based on current form you would say give him whatever he wants – he is worth it.
But whilst some players can continue to perform brilliantly, at a world-class level into their mid and even late 30s, many others experience a sharp and sudden dip in form. This is particularly the case when it comes to attackers for whom pace is a big part of their game. Sharpness and speed are typically the first thing to go, so it is easy to see why the club are thinking long and hard about what is best.
However, returning to Mo, he really has been top-class thus far this term. After 21 games for the Reds, including all 14 Premier League matches, he boasts 27 goal involvements (15 goals and 12 assists). He has four assists and a goal from Liverpool’s five Champions League matches, helping the club top the pile and taking them to the brink of automatic qualification for the next phase.
Against Bologna, he did the double, scoring and assisting, though of course that does not count as far as his tally of 37 in the Premier League. However, he began the 2024/25 league campaign by scoring and assisting on the opening day, against Ipswich, and since then the doubles have kept flowing. What’s more, the calibre of opponent he has been putting to the sword could hardly have been higher.
He has scored and assisted in three of his last four matches for the club, against Newcastle, Man City and Villa. The match he missed out on, against Southampton, he had to be content with simply scoring twice. Before that, he achieved the feat in question against Chelsea and against one of the sides he loves playing, Man United. He even chucked in two assists against that lot! That gave him six score-and-assist games from just 14 contests, a stunning frequency. Given his first 31 came from 253 matches it is a staggering uplift and long may it continue… at least into next season, if anyone on the board is reading!