Salah overhauls Rooney for single-club Premier League goal involvement record

Mohamed Salah just cannot stay out of the headlines at the moment.

The Egyptian's future has been a subject of debate in recent days after he said Arne Slot had "thrown him under the bus" by benching him for three straight Premier League games. Those comments led to the Dutchman omitting his star forward entirely for a Champions League victory over Inter.

But following clear-the-air talks with his head coach, Salah returned to the bench for Saturday's 2-0 Premier League win over Brighton.

An injury to Joe Gomez saw Salah enter the fray after just 26 minutes, and he showed no signs of rust by assisting Hugo Ekitike's second goal with an inch-perfect corner delivery.

Having equalled the single-season high for Premier League goals and assists – 47, level with Andy Cole in 1993-94 and Alan Shearer in 1994-95 – as Liverpool won the title last term, Salah now has outright possession of another record.

Salah's 277 goal involvements for Liverpool in the Premier League (188 goals, 89 assists) are the most by any player for a single club, having surpassed Wayne Rooney's haul of 276 for Manchester United (183 goals, 93 assists).

Salah is on 280 Premier League goal involvements overall, with his first three coming for Chelsea in 2013-14, though it is on Merseyside where he has really made his mark.

Here, we delve into the Opta data to detail the story behind Salah's latest record, while asking what other landmark figures are within his sights.

Salah's journey to 277

Salah first made the move to England in January 2014, joining Chelsea from Swiss side Basel for £11m.

His first Premier League goal came in a 6-0 rout of Arsene Wenger's Arsenal at Stamford Bridge in April 2014 – a game that memorably saw Kieran Gibbs sent off in a case of mistaken identity following an Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain handball.

Two games later, Salah registered a goal and an assist in a 3-0 win over Stoke City, but he then failed to supply a goal involvement in his final 14 Premier League outings for the Blues.

He departed Stamford Bridge for Serie A in February 2015, spending half a season on loan at Fiorentina before another temporary spell at Roma in 2015-16. The Giallorossi made his stay permanent for around €15m (£11m), and 19 goals in all competitions in 2016-17 earned him a return to the Premier League with Liverpool.   

Salah's debut campaign with the Reds saw him register 42 Premier League goal involvements (32 goals, 10 assists), which was his best single-season haul until 2024-25.

He endured something of a drop-off with 30 in 2018-19 (22 goals, eight assists), and while 2019-20 was the first campaign in which he failed to net 20 times (19 goals, 10 assists), he did lead all Liverpool players for goal involvements as they won the Premier League title for the first time – only Man City's Kevin De Bruyne registered more across the league (33).

Salah's worst season with Liverpool to date came in 2020-21, with 'only' 27 goal involvements (22 goals, five assists), then he tallied 36 in 2021-22, 31 in 2022-23 and 28 in 2023-24 before his remarkable 2024-25 campaign.

As well as tying the single-season goal involvement record, Salah won the Golden Boot and Playmaker awards by leading the goals and assists charts.

Salah had already captured both awards in the same season once before, in 2021-22, with Harry Kane the only other player to do so in 2020-21.

He was just two assists from matching the single-season record of 20, shared by Thierry Henry in 2002-03 and De Bruyne in 2019-20, and if not for a drop-off late in the campaign, he could have also troubled Erling Haaland's single-season goal record of 36, from 2022-23.

Salah only registered two goals and one assist in his final nine games of the campaign, having achieved 44 goal contributions in his first 29 (27 goals, 17 assists).

Where does Salah stand?

Salah's 277th goal involvement for Liverpool saw him displace Rooney, with Ryan Giggs (271 for Manchester United), Kane (259 for Tottenham) and Henry (249 for Arsenal) rounding off the top five for goals and assists for a single club.

The next Liverpool player is eighth in the charts, with Steven Gerrard providing 212 goal involvements (120 goals, 92 assists) for the Reds. Frank Lampard (237 for Chelsea) and Sergio Aguero (231 for Manchester City) are also above the Anfield icon.

And with 280 overall goal involvements in the Premier League, Salah has also surpassed Lampard (279) to go third in the all-time combined goals and assists charts.

Shearer is out in front with 324 (260 goals, 64 assists), with Rooney second on 311 (208 goals, 103 assists). 

Should Salah remain on Merseyside until his Liverpool contract expires in 2027, he will certainly fancy his chances of climbing at least one place higher.

He could also move further up the competition's all-time goalscoring charts. The Egyptian is fourth on that list with 190 goals, and Rooney is the next player in his sights, having netted 208 times for Everton and Man Utd. Kane is second, with 213 goals, with Shearer's 260 still the record.

Of course, the prospect of Salah leaving Liverpool appeared to become more realistic when he questioned Slot's management following last week's dramatic 3-3 draw with Leeds United.

Several Saudi Pro League clubs have been credited with an interest in Salah, who was reportedly the subject of a £150m offer from Al-Ittihad back in 2023.

But Salah did not appear to be bidding a permanent farewell to the Kop at the conclusion of Saturday's win over Brighton, as he prepares to link up with Egypt's squad for the Africa Cup of Nations.

January interest in Salah should not be ruled out, but his ties to Liverpool remain strong – no Premier League player has ever had a more fruitful relationship with one club.