Jamie Carragher risks wrath of Cristiano Ronaldo again with Mohamed Salah claim

Mohamed Salah has announced he will be leaving Liverpool at the end of the season, with Jamie Carragher making his status among other Premier League greats clear

Jamie Carragher has had his say on Mohamed Salah's decision to leave Liverpool(Image: Getty Images)

Jamie Carragher has risked the wrath of Cristiano Ronaldo’s legions of fans — and the man himself — after he placed Mohamed Salah ahead of the former Manchester United star on his list of Premier League greats.

The former Liverpool defender was reacting to Salah announcing that he will leave the Reds at the end of the current season, bringing his nine-year spell at Anfield to an end. The 33-year-old has reached an agreement which will see him depart for free in the summer, having announced his decision to supporters in a video message.

During his time at Liverpool, Salah has become the club’s third-highest goalscorer of all time, winning two Premier League titles and a Champions League, among other trophies, to his name.

Underlining his impact on the Premier League, Salah is the only player to have claimed three PFA Players’ Player of the Year awards during his career - the highest individual honor in the English game.

And that, Carragher feels, places him above the likes of Ronaldo, Eden Hazard and Eric Cantona when it comes to the Premier League’s greatest foreign players. That might not go down too well with the former, who has some history with Carragher, having completely blanked him after being criticized upon his return to Manchester United.

Writing in his column for The Telegraph, Carragher said: “Mohamed Salah’s imminent Liverpool departure marks not just the end of an extraordinary era for the club. It means the Premier League will soon be deprived of another world-class, generational talent.

Jamie Carragher has placed Mohamed Salah ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo in his list of Premier League greats(Image: 2021 Getty Images)

“Liverpool’s loss is English football’s loss.

“Following Kevin De Bruyne’s exit from Manchester City just last season, Salah’s Anfield farewell brings down the curtain on another career in this country which has illuminated our stadiums.

“Until others step up to fill the huge void, we may risk suffering a 'superstar famine.'

“In the pantheon of overseas attacking players to have excelled in England, only Thierry Henry eclipses Salah’s output and consistency. While many will argue the merits of players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Eden Hazard, Gianfranco Zola, Dennis Bergkamp or Eric Cantona, none of them produced the same devastating numbers as consistently, season-after-season, as the Egyptian.

“Ronaldo’s time at Manchester United, both initially and upon his return, was either side of his absolute, Real Madrid-peak years. Salah edges ahead of him when judging strictly on Premier League performance and impact. In an all-time Premier League XI, Salah is an automatic inclusion in the front three alongside Henry and Ronaldo.”

Liverpool.com says: Ronaldo and Manchester United fans might not like it, but Carragher is right. For his impact on the Premier League, Salah is ahead.

Of course, Ronaldo has his five Ballon d’Ors to show for himself, one of which was won while he was at United, but his best years were at Madrid, while Salah’s were definitely spent in the Premier League.

His exit will be a big loss for the English game, and there’s every chance we might not see another player like him again for a long time.