Mohammed Salah VS Mahrez? Who is the better player?
Mohommad Salah is an Egyptian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Liverpool and captains the Egypt national team. He is known for his speed and dribbling, and he is also known as one of the best players of his generation. The comeback of Salah to the Premier League is one of the greatest in history.
Riyad Mahrez is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for Saudi Professional League club Al-Ahli and captains the Algeria national team. He has played under Pep Guardiola and has won numerous titles putting his name among the best wingers in the world.
1: Player Stats
Being two outstanding right-wingers of the football world, these players have worked wonders when they have stepped foot on the football field. On comparing them based on the 2021/22 season we get a closer look at their stats.
| Mahrez | Salah | |
| Games | 33 | 35 |
| Shots | 61 | 139 |
| Goals | 11 | 23 |
| Assists | 5 | 13 |
The Egyptian King beats Mahrez in this comparison by a long shot. A clearer observation can be made by looking at the overall statistics of their entire career.
| Mahrez | Salah | |
| Games | 487 | 556 |
| Goals | 137 | 263 |
| Assists | 109 | 132 |
It is clearly visible that even in terms of overall statistics, Mo Salah has a dominant hand over Mahrez. Hence, he is the clear winner in this category.
2: Titles
The marvellous right-wingers have written their names in the hall of fame when it comes to football and have led their respective teams to victory and glory. The following are the titles that the players brought home by aiding their teams through their outstanding fieldwork.
| Mahrez | Salah | |
| Premier League | 5 | 1 |
| Champions League | 1 | 1 |
| FA Cup | 2 | 1 |
| UEFA Supercup | N/A | 1 |
| English Supercup | 2 | 1 |
| English Cup | 3 | 2 |
| Others | 2 | 3 |
In terms of titles won, Mahrez remains ahead of Salah and hence comes out to be the winner in this category.
3: Individual Honours
The unmatched skills and enthusiastic gameplay of the players have led them to sign precious awards and honours to their name. Looking at the careers of both the players we find them to be laden with honours bestowed upon them as a result of their hard work and dedication.
Individual Honors Of Mohammed Salah:
CAF Most Promising Talent of the Year: 2012
UAFA Golden Boy: 2012
Swiss Super League Player of the Year: 2013
El Heddaf Arab Footballer of the Year: 2013,2017,2018
A.S. Roma Player of the Season: 2015–16
Globe Soccer Best Arab Player of the Year: 2016
BBC African Footballer of the Year: 2017, 2018
African Footballer of the Year: 2017, 2018
PFA Players’ Player of the Year: 2017–18, 2021–22
FWA Footballer of the Year: 2017–18,2021–22
Premier League Golden Boot: 2017–18, 2018–19 (shared), 2021–22 (shared)
Premier League Player of the Season: 2017–18
Premier League Playmaker of the Season: 2021–22
Premier League Goal of the Season: 2021–22
Onze d’Argent: 2017–18
Honorary Citizen of the Chechen Republic: 2018
FIFA Puskás Award: 2018
FIFA Club World Cup Golden Ball: 2019
FSA Player of the Year: 2018, 2021
Time 100: 2019
GQ Middle East Man of The Year Award: 2019
IFFHS Best CAF Men’s Player of the Decade: 2011–2020
IFFHS CAF Men’s Team of the Decade: 2011–2020
Laureus Sporting Inspiration Award: 2021
Golden Foot: 2021
IFFHS Best CAF Men’s Player of the Year: 2021[454]
BBC Goal of the Season: 2021–22
Individual Honors Of Riyad Mahrez:
CAF African Footballer of the Year: 2016
BBC African Footballer of the Year: 2016
Algerian Footballer of the Year: 2015, 2016
PFA Players’ Player of the Year: 2015–16
PFA Fans’ Player of the Year: 2015–16
Leicester City Player of the Year: 2015–16
El Heddaf Arab Footballer of the Year: 2016
Lion d’Or African Footballer of the Year: 2016
African Goal of the Year: 2019
IFFHS CAF Men’s Team of the Decade 2011–2020
Alan Hardaker Trophy: 2021
IFFHS CAF World’s Best Playmaker: 2021
When it comes to individual laurels, both players have a cabinet full of awards and trophies. However, Salah remains ahead of Mahrez in this race of tokens of personal achievements.
4: International Career
Mohammed Salah:
Salah competed for his country in the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations, which was held in Gabon. With five goals in Egypt’s 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying, he became the top scorer from Egypt. He also scored both goals in the team’s 2-1 victory over Congo, one of which came on a penalty kick in extra time, advancing the Pharaohs to their first World Cup finals since 1990. In September 2019, Salah was chosen as the Egypt national team’s captain. With Salah’s 50th goal for Egypt in a foreign match on March 24, 2023, Egypt became the only African nation with two players who have at least 50 goals in an international match.
Riyad Mahrez:
In the opening game of the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations, Mahrez scored both goals in a 2–2 draw with Zimbabwe and was awarded Man of the Match. Mahrez was chosen to be captain of Algeria at the Africa Cup of Nations. Mahrez scored a 90+5 minute goal in a 2–1 win against Nigeria in the semi-finals of the competition. Later on, Algeria managed to win the tournament which was their first since 1990. He also remained the captain of the Algerian team at the delayed 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, held in January 2022.
When it comes to international careers, both players have had their share of victories and glories. Although, when viewed in comparison it can be observed that Salah has had a comparatively more successful international career than Mahrez. Hence, he remains the winner of this category as well.
5: Personal Life
Salah is often found to say that he enjoys playing games on his PlayStation when he has free time on his hands. During a fun yet bizarre incident of increasing fandom at the 2018 Egyptian presidential election, a large number of ballot papers, possibly more than a million, involved voters crossing out both names and writing Salah’s name instead.
Mahrez is a practising Muslim just like Salah and was seen to be making the Umrah pilgrimage to Mecca in 2017. He enjoys swimming. In a tragic incident, he lost millions worth of valuables in a burglary that took place at his residence.
Mohammed Salah Vs Riyad Mahrez? Who is the better player?
The debate between Mohammed Salah and Riyad Mahrez is not just between two wingers but it is the debate of who is the the best african player in the history and the Premier League. Mahrez has most premier league titles won by an African player, Most assists in the premier league by an African player and also won the AFCON for his country. All those has achieved him a legend status in his country and the world. Although on the other hand Salah has been a constant nominee for the Golden Boot scoring tons of goals in the Premier League and provide great performances constantly for Liverpool.
After having a thorough look at the player’s professional experiences and statistics, it is safe to say that both of them have had a fair share of success in their lives. Their stats paint a clear picture of dedication, hard work and enthusiasm. Even though both the players are highly successful, upon viewing them in comparison, it can be said that Salah has a dominant upper hand over Mahrez in the bigger picture. Hence, Salah stands out to be the clear winner of our comparison.
