Mohamed Salah is clearly the Premier League MVP this season as his goals, assists and general wizardry continues to drive Liverpool to a runaway title win.
It’s clear and obvious he’s head and shoulders above the rest. But is Salah having the best MVP season in Premier League history?
The numbers suggest yes, but is this individual season more impressive than Erling Haaland in 2022-23? Thierry Henry in 2002-03? Alan Shearer in 1994-95? How do we measure the importance of Salah’s stunning season for Liverpool and compare it to other standout individual campaigns in Premier League history?
Below we take a look at why this season has cemented Salah’s legendary status and how it’s on track to complete the best-ever MVP campaign in Premier League history.
Numbers are off the charts as legendary status achieved
During his last Premier League outing in March Salah scored twice to move level with Sergio Aguero as the fifth-highest goalscorer (184 goals) in Premier League history. He also became Liverpool’s outright third-highest goalscorer in club history with 243. His brilliance has been dazzling us for many seasons now and his legendary status has been confirmed.
But as for the 2024-25 season, he is on par to break the single-season record for assists and goal involvements and will be extremely close to reaching Erling Haaland’s single-season record of 36 goals.
Right now Salah is on pace to score 34 goals and add 23 assists this season. That would be 57 goal involvements in a single season. The record is currently 47 set by Andrew Cole and Alan Shearer.
Salah is only three assists away from becoming the second player in history to have 20 goals and 20 assists (Thierry Henry 2002-03) in a single-season in history. Add in that Salah has already set the Premier League record for most games (11) with both a goal and assists in a single season, has equalled the most away goals scored (16) in a single season and is on track to win a record-equalling fourth golden boot, and it’s clear this season is on a whole new level for both him and the Premier League.
Will this MVP season from Salah eclipse Haaland, Shearer, Henry and others?
Thierry Henry is the only current player to have 20+ goals and 20+ assists in a single season back in 2002-03 when Arsenal were about to become the Invincibles the season after as the Frenchman and the Gunners were at the peak of their powers. Alan Shearer’s combined 47 goals and assists delivered Blackburn Rovers the title in 1994-95 but that was in a 42-game season, not 38 like now. Erling Haaland’s record-breaking 36 goals in a single season helped Manchester City dominate once again in 2022-23.
Others stars such as Eden Hazard, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Didier Drogba, Kevin de Bruyne, Patrick Vieira, Eric Cantona, Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy, N’Golo Kante, Roy Keane, Alisson, Virgil van Dijk, Rodri, Petr Cech, David Beckham and many others could hold up their hand when asked if they had been the MVP in a Premier League season.
But how can you decide if it was the best MVP season in history? The beauty of it is that it’s mostly subjective. In terms of stats we can look at goals and assists or points won (see below), but there are so many intangibles which fold into this.
Would Leicester or Chelsea have won the Premier League title had N’Golo Kante not been around to win the ball back in midfield time and time again? Probably not. Would Liverpool have finally gotten over the line in 2019-20 if it wasn’t for the star duo of Van Dijk and Alisson in defense? Unlikely. Would Man United have turned into a dynasty without Eric Cantona’s mercurial talents or Roy Keane’s incredible drive from midfield? Nope.
When it comes to points won by goals alone, Opta has listed the following three players as winning the most points for their teams in a single season in Premier League history:
1. Alan Shearer — 1993-94 season — 31 goals won Blackburn Rovers 32 points
2. Robin van Persie — 2012-13 season — 26 goals won Man United 27 points
3. James Beattie — 2003-04 — 23 goals won Southampton 27 points
We also have to factor in the strength of the particular season. Does it matter that Salah is ripping it up for Liverpool with both Arsenal and Manchester City (and many other traditional powers like Man United, Tottenham and even Chelsea) having a down season and way out of the title race? It has to be a factor. Does it matter that Alan Shearer and Thierry Henry put in their incredible campaigns when Manchester United were at the peak of their powers under Sir Alex Ferguson and pushed their respective teams all the way? It certainly does.
Salah’s numbers could end up being the best in a single-season in Premier League history but some could argue he hasn’t had the best MVP performance in league history because Liverpool haven’t really had a true contender across the whole season. That’s fine. But the numbers below are telling…
Points won due to Salah’s goals and assist absolutely vital to Liverpool’s title bid
His goals and assists have obviously been hugely important to Liverpool sitting pretty atop the Premier League table. But just how valuable have they been?
If we simply take away Salah’s goals and assists from this Liverpool side in 2024-25 they would be 35 points worse off than their current total of 70 points. Of course, another Liverpool player will have likely stepped up and scored goals or provided assists to get some of these points back, but it’s incredible to put into context the importance of the season Salah is having.
And in terms of the worth of Salah’s goals, according to Opta his 27 goals this season have won a whopping 20 points for Liverpool. Salah’s goals have also turned five draws into wins, one deficit into a win and grabbed a point at both Arsenal and Man United. He still has nine games to go break Shearer’s record of “points won by a single player” by Opta’s definition and has to win 13 more points on his own to secure that particular accolade this season. He’ll probably do it.
To do all this while his contract is about to expire — That proves this is the best-ever MVP season in Premier League history
The fact Salah has had this record-breaking season amid the entire world talking about his future at Liverpool with his contract expiring on July 1, 2025 is utterly remarkable.
It’s the extra layer to this magnificent season and why it has to be the best. Is Salah putting together one of the greatest ever seasons to leave Liverpool on a high and giving Reds fans the ultimate farewell? Or is the dangling carrot of a huge new contract offer (from Liverpool and elsewhere) firing him to new levels?
To have the focus and determination to put up these numbers and be this important in so many ways for Liverpool — who are in the first season under a new manager don’t forget — while your future at the club is up in the air makes the season Salah is having more impressive than anything we’ve ever seen from an individual in Premier League history. Period.
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