Is Mohamed Salah the greatest African player of all time?

There are few players as universally loved as Mohamed Salah. And really, he's been a surprise hit on Anfield.

When Salah joined Liverpool in 2017 from Roma for £35m, few eyebrows were raised. The Egyptian winger was considered a good signing – and had just had a good season in Serie A – but few could have predicted the electric impact he was going to have: BBC journalist Mina Rzouki even infamously declared she saw him as "another Juan Cuadrado". 

148 Liverpool goals later, it's safe to say that Salah has silenced the doubters.  

Salah is one of the greatest footballers in the world. Jamie Carragher has claimed that he believes the Anfield no.11 will probably go down as one of the greatest Premier League stars ever when he retires. So given that he's twice African Footballer of the Year, is Salah the greatest African player ever?

That's a very subjective question. And there's plenty of competition.

Is Mohamed Salah the greatest? Here are some of the contenders…

Judging the greatest African player purely on talent, you'd be hard-pressed not to give it to someone like Jay-Jay Okocha. The former PSG, Bolton and Nigeria star was one of the most technically talented footballers of his generation, proving with a stint in the Premier League that he could hack it in the rough and tumble of English football. 

But while Okocha was so good he was named twice, he never won a Ballon d'Or. Not like Liberia's George Weah, who lifted the gong in the 1990s and was considered another of the greatest players ever. The forward is now president of his country and is widely considered one of the best players from his continent.

And then, of course, there's Samuel Eto'o, who rather uniquely lifted the treble two seasons running with two different clubs – Barcelona and Inter Milan – in 2009 and 2010. Eto'o is one of the deadliest strikers ever and enjoyed a career full of silverware. And what about Didier Drogba? One of the biggest big-game players of the modern age, the Ivorian had a knack for scoring in just about every final going: at his peak, there was no one who could bully defenders quite like him.

Those are just a few names. Abedi Pele was a legend of his time, Roger Milla lit up a World Cup, Rigobert Song had great longevity and even Salah's teammate, Sadio Mane, could make a case based on talent, trophies and big-game moments.

For some, Salah's already there as the best of the best. For others, he might have to win quite a few cups before he can be called the greatest from Africa…

Subscribe to FourFourTwo today and get three issues for £3.

Restock your kit bag with the best deals for footballers on Amazon right now

ALSO READ

LIST Football Manager 2022: All the FM22 wonderkids you'll need to sign

TALENT FIFA 22: The 150 best wonderkids in the game