Mohamed Salah’sLiverpool career is coming to an end.
After nine years, 435 appearances and 255 goals for the Reds, Salah has announced this will be his last season at Anfield.
Liverpool’s third-highest scorer of all time will undoubtedly leave as one of the Reds’ greatest players, but where does he rank in terms of Premier League icon status?
BBC Sport looks at some of the league’s best-ever forwards and asks you to decide where he ranks. As always, this is not an exhaustive list.
Do you judge them purely on goals, maybe it is their contribution to their teams, their success or all-round involvement?
There is plenty for you to get your head around before ranking them below.
Sergio Aguero – Man City
Premier League appearances:275 Goals:184 Goals per game:0.67 Assists:47
Agueroooo. That 93rd-minute title-winning goal back in May 2012 will live long in the memory as he gave Manchester City their first title for 44 years – snatching it away from their bitter rivals Manchester United on goal difference.
But the Argentine was much more than just that goal. He is the league’s sixth-highest scorer, is City’s all-time top scorer and has the record for the most Premier League hat-tricks.
He helped City to five league titles, an FA Cup and six League Cups – and was the winner of the Premier League Golden Boot in 2015.
Dennis Bergkamp – Arsenal
Premier League appearances:315 Goals:87 Goals per game:0.28 Assists:94
Often classed as one of the most influential early Premier League signings, Bergkamp had a transformational effect on Arsenal when he signed from Inter Milan for £7.5m in 1995.
He helped the club win three Premier League titles, three FA Cups and reach the Champions League final in 2006. The Dutchman won the PFA Player of the Year award in 1998.
Sixth in the list for Premier League assists, Bergkamp was more known for his creativity than his goalscoring – but he still managed 87 goals for the Gunners, including some stunners.
Andy Cole – Newcastle, Blackburn, Man Utd, Fulham, Portsmouth, Man City, Sunderland
Premier League appearances:414 Goals:187 Goals per game:0.45 Assists:73
Prolific in front of goal, Cole is the league’s fifth-highest scorer of all time and picked up the Golden Boot in 1994.
He is mostly remembered for his time at Manchester United, who paid a then record British transfer fee for him from Newcastle.
He spent six seasons at Old Trafford and won nine major trophies, including five Premier League trophies and the Champions League.
Didier Drogba – Chelsea
Premier League appearances:254 Goals:104 Goals per game:0.41 Assists:55
In two spells at the club, the Ivory Coast striker became a firm favourite among Chelsea fans as they became a dominant force in the Premier League under Jose Mourinho.
He was voted the club’s greatest ever player in a fans’ poll in 2012, winning four Premier Leagues, four FA Cups, three League Cups and a Champions League title.
He is Chelsea’s fourth-highest scorer of all time and became the first African player to score 100 Premier League goals in 2012. He was also a two-time Golden Boot winner.
Erling Haaland – Man City
Premier League appearances:126 Goals:107 Goals per game:0.85 Assists:23
You couldn’t leave him off this list, could you? Haaland has consistently set goalscoring records since moving to City from Borussia Dortmund in 2022 for a little more than £50m.
He is already the club’s fourth-highest goalscorer and is the only player to win the Premier League’s player and young player of the season awards in the same campaign. He is also the fastest player to reach 100 Premier League goals.
He has won two Premier League titles, an FA Cup and City’s first and only Champions League, two Golden Boots and a PFA Player of the Year award. His 36 goals scored in the 2022-23 Premier League season is the most any player has scored in a single campaign.
Thierry Henry – Arsenal
Premier League appearances: 258 Goals:175 Goals per game:0.68 Assists:74
The Frenchman, who also played for Monaco, Juventus and Barcelona, scored 175 Premier League goals and is eighth on the list of all-time scorers.
Viewed by many as Arsenal’s greatest player, Henry won two Premier League titles and three FA Cups with the Gunners, where he played between 1999 and 2007.
He won the Premier League Golden Boot a record four times, the PFA Player of the Year award twice and holds the record for most assists in one season (20) along with former Manchester City midfielder Kevin de Bruyne.
Harry Kane – Tottenham
Premier League appearances:320 Goals:213 Goals per game:0.67 Assists:46
England’s all-time top scorer ended his record-breaking Tottenham career when he left for Bayern Munich in 2023.
Spurs’ top scorer won the Premier League Golden Boot three times – in 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2020-21 – and with 213 goals from 320 games in the English top flight, needed just 48 more to break Alan Shearer’s Premier League scoring record.
His one regret was leaving the club without a domestic or European trophy, but he was consistently one of the league’s most feared forwards.
Cristiano Ronaldo – Man Utd
Premier League appearances:236 Goals:103 Goals per game:0.44 Assists:37
Ronaldo enjoyed two spells in the Premier League and at Manchester United – but it was the first stint between 2003-09 where he really made his name.
The Portuguese won three straight Premier League titles, the Champions League and the Club World Cup with United – as his form made him the world’s most expensive player when he joined Real Madrid in for £80m.
He won the Golden Boot in 2008 as he made his reputation as one of the world’s greatest forwards. He was also awarded the first of five Ballons d’Or in his final full season at the club.
Wayne Rooney – Man Utd and Everton
Premier League appearances:491 Goals:208 Goals per game:0.42 Assists:103
Undoubtedly a prolific finisher, Rooney is the third-highest Premier League goalscorer and Manchester United’s leading all-time scorer. But Rooney was far more than that and also stands fourth in the Premier League’s list for assists.
Having started his Premier League career at Everton, in 2004 Rooney moved to United, where he won five Premier League titles, an FA Cup, three League Cups, a Champions League, Europa League and Club World Cup title.
He took home the PFA Player of the Season award in 2010 and won BBC Match of the Day’s goal of the season award on three occasions.
Mohamed Salah – Liverpool and Chelsea
Premier League appearances:323 Goals:191 Goals per game:0.59 Assists:93
The Egyptian has played a key role in transforming Liverpool’s fortunes over the past nine seasons – becoming the club’s third-highest scorer ever, the Premier League’s fourth top scorer and the league’s eighth highest assist maker.
He helped the club to two Premier League titles, the Champions League, Fifa Club World Cup, Uefa Super Cup, FA Cup and two EFL Cups, as well as the Community Shield.
He has won the Premier League Golden Boot on four occasions and been named the Professional Footballers’ Association Player of the Year three times – in 2018, 2022 and 2025.
Alan Shearer – Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle
Premier League appearances:441 Goals:260 Goals per game:0.59 Assists: 64
Alan Shearer still leads the Premier League’s all-time standings in terms of goalscorers – and you get the feeling he will do for a long time yet.
The ex-England striker played a key role in bringing the Premier League title to Blackburn Rovers before joining his boyhood club Newcastle – despite interest from Manchester United.
He won the Premier League Golden Boot three times, was the PFA Player of the Year twice and came third in the Ballon d’Or in 1996.
Luis Suarez – Liverpool
Premier League appearances:110 Goals:69 Goals per game:0.63 Assists:23
Suarez’s Liverpool career was filled with controversy but there can be no denying his brilliance for the Reds on the field after signing from Ajax in 2011 for £22.7m.
He left Anfield having scored 82 goals in 133 appearances, but also serving two bans – he was given an eight-game suspension in for racially abusing Manchester United’s Patrice Evra and a 10-game ban for biting Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic.
He won the League Cup in his first season at the club and equalled the goalscoring record for a 38-game Premier League season in his final campaign, with Liverpool finishing just two points behind Manchester City in the title race.
Suarez’s also finished as the league’s top scorer in his last season with the club, as well as winner of the PFA and Football Writers’ Player of the Year awards.-BBC
