Mohammed Salah or Kylian Mbappe? Who is the better player?
Recently Mbappe has been the centre of attention for the world and is always in the news for either scoring a beautiful goal or a weird controversy. The French youngster is very talented which makes him valuable in the eyes of football fans all around the world. Some people think that players take the wrong advantage of this sentiment for their materialistic benefits but that’s a story for a different article. In his recent few seasons, he has achieved a lot of big things for club and country which makes him already stand in the list of legends if he were to retire after 3-4 seasons.
On the other hand, there is Mo Salah who had a slow start to his career but now he is racking up goals for fun. In a very short period, Salah has managed to win the hearts of millions around the world. The two players have eight years between them and there is a lot Mbappe will achieve in the next eight years.
Mohammed Salah or Kylian Mbappe?
1: Player Stats
Both Kylian and Salah are known for scoring goals and winning titles and it will be a tough competition for them in this category. Also keeping in mind the age difference we cannot compare both these players based on their whole careers and we have to compare them based on the last season.
Comparing based on 2021/22 league stats:
Head-to-Head:
| 2021/22 | Mo Salah | Mbappe |
| Matches | 35 | 35 |
| Minutes | 3182 | 2962 |
| Goals | 28 | 23 |
| Shots | 147 | 139 |
| Assists | 17 | 13 |
| Passes | 1345 | 1085 |
| Pass Success % | 82% | 80% |
| Offsides | 42 | 15 |
It looks like Mbappe is better at personal stats with more goals and assists in his bag. We should also consider that Mbappe plays in Ligue 1 which stands in the 5th position on the top league table ranking by UEFA. It also means that there is little to no competition for PSG in France as other teams are not well equipped or have strong financial sources making PSG the main club of Ligue 1.
Besides that Mbappe plays with the likes of well-established players such as Leo Messi, Neymar Jr, Sergio Ramos, Navas and Verrati. All these players are very beneficial for Mbappe and PSG to continue their dominance easily in the Ligue 1. As for Salah, he has to earn his place with players who are great but not the best. Achieving anything in the Premier League is more difficult than the Ligue 1.
If we go by statistics Mbappe wins in this category but if you consider the player’s performance too then Salah is the winner.
2: Titles Won
The trophy cabinet of Kylian Mbappe is something which only a few players in history can compare. Mbappe has been very lucky and he has lifted so many more titles and big ones too in his career. Meanwhile, Salah has also won a couple of titles recently but his trophy cabinet is much smaller than Mbappe’s.
| Mo Salah | Mbappe | |
| Premier League | 1 | N/A |
| French League | N/A | 5 |
| Champions League | 1 | 0 |
| UEFA Supercup | 1 | 0 |
| FA Cup | 1 | N/A |
| English League Cup | 2 | N/A |
| French Super Cup | 3 | N/A |
| Others | 4 | 5 |
3: International Career
Everyone knows the success Kylian Mbappe experienced with France and how important he is for the team. He won the World Cup and the UEFA Nations League before the age of 22. This player is a crucial asset to the French team and he is always called up for international duty despite having an abundance of other talented players. Mbappe is all set for the upcoming World Cup to defend the title and keep it for more than four years.
“The Egyptian Messi” represented his country in both the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup and the 2012 Summer Olympics. He was shifted to the Egypt national football team on 3rd September 2011. Salah has scored 47 total goals across 82 appearances till now for Egypt. Mo Salah was named the captain of the Egyptian National team in 2019. Whenever Salah is on the pitch for his country he always gives his 100%.
Salah was also Egypt’s leader in the AFCON final. Egypt lost the match on penalties after playing a stunning game. People of Egypt know the amount of passion Salah has for his country and a majority of them will also rate him as the best Egyptian footballer ever. He is a great role model for the people of Egypt and all his fans around the world.
4: Personal Life
Kylian Mbappe is relatively younger than Salah and there is a lot of hidden hard work that people don’t see behind his success. Mbappe is already a millionaire at the age of 23 and can live a lavish life showing off his riches. Instead, the player tries to keep a balance between his personal life and professional career so that it does not affect it. At this moment Kylian is not dating anyone but with the amount of money he has it is clear that there would be thousands of women who would want him. The net worth of Kylian Mbappe is $110 Million in 2022.
Mo Salah follows Islam and is a practising Muslim, the player is praised for his lifestyle by millions around the world making him one of the most influential Muslim sportspersons of this era. Salah enjoys his life by keeping a good shape, practising his religion, loving his family and scoring goals. The net worth of Mo Salah is expected to be around $90 Million.
5: Individual Honours
It is suggested by all the pundits of English football that the best way to compare two players is to compare their glories. If a player is genuinely good then he will surely be rewarded for his performance.
Individual Honours Of Mo Salah:
- Golden Foot: 2021
- IFFHS Best CAF Men’s Player of the Year: 2021
- BBC Premier League Player of the Year: 2021
- 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
- GQ Middle East Man of The Year Award: 2019
- Fans’ Footballer of the Year award: 2020, 2021
- IFFHS CAF Men’s Team of The Year: 2020, 2021
- FIFA Club World Cup Golden Ball: 2019
- FSA Player of the Year: 2018, 2021
- UEFA Men’s Player of the Year Award: 2018 (3rd place)
- FIFA Puskás Award: 2018
- The Best FIFA Men’s Player: 2018, 2021 (3rd place)
- UEFA Men’s Player of the Year Award: 2018 (3rd place)
- FIFA Puskás Award: 2018
- The Best FIFA Men’s Player: 2018, 2021 (3rd place)
- Onze d’Argent: 2017–18
- Honorary Citizen of the Chechen Republic: 2018
- Top 100 most influential Africans by New African magazine: 2018
- PFA Premier League Team of the Year: 2017–18,[111] 2020–21
- Liverpool Fans’ Player of the Season Award: 2017–18, 2020–21
- Liverpool Players’ Player of the Season Award: 2017–18, 2020–21
- PFA Fans’ Player of the Year: 2017–18, 2020–21
- UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season: 2017–18
- ESM Team of the Year: 2017–18
- African Footballer of the Year: 2017, 2018
- Goal Arab Player of the Year: 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021
- PFA Players’ Player of the Year: 2017–18
- FWA Footballer of the Year: 2017–18
- Premier League Golden Boot: 2017–18, 2018–19
- Premier League Player of the Season: 2017–18
- Premier League Player of the Month: November 2017, February 2018, March 2018, October 2021
- PFA Player of the Month (10): November 2017, December 2017, February 2018, March 2018, December 2018, January 2019, April 2019, September 2021, October 2021, February 2022
- BBC African Footballer of the Year: 2017, 2018
- CAF Most Promising Talent of the Year: 2012
- UEFA 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
- CAF Team of the Year: 2016 (as a substitute), 2017, 2018, 2019
- Africa Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament: 2017, 2021
Individual honours of Kylian Mbappe:
- Ligue 1 Top Goalscorer: 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021-22
- Onze de Bronze: 2019
- UEFA Nations League Finals Golden Boot: 2021
- IFFHS Men’s World Team: 2018
- French Player of the Year: 2018, 2019
- UEFA Team of the Year: 2018
- FIFA World Cup Best Young Player Award: 2018
- FIFA World Cup Dream Team: 2018
- Kopa Trophy: 2018
- UNFP Ligue 1 Player of the Year: 2018–19, 2020–21, 2021-22
- UNFP Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year: 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19
- UNFP Ligue 1 Team of the Year: 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2020–21, 2021-22
- UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season: 2016–17, 2019–20, 2020–21
- UEFA Champions League Team of the Season: 2021-22
- FIFA FIFPro World11: 2018, 2019
- Golden Boy: 2017
The Egyptian king Mo Salah is the winner in this category.
6: Club
Mo Salah started his club career with Basel, but the situation got better for Salah after he moved to Roma. Football pundits say that it was in Rome that Salah realized his true style of play which made him a player today. His prime time began when he joined Liverpool on 22nd June 2017. He scored a total of 152 goals in just 237 games in a very short time, making him one of the best players at Liverpool. Mo Salah holds the record for most goals scored in a single season in the Premier League (32). Looking at Mo Salah’s performance in the current situation, it seems that it is still possible for him to win the Ballon d’Or in the future.
The World Cup winner Mbappe is an ex-player for AS Monaco. During his time there he impressed a lot of people with his speed and skills which made him a promising talent at a very young age. A lot of clubs were scouting him but it was PSG who were able to secure the signing at a world transfer record fee of €180m. It was a huge amount but it all turned in the favour of PSG as Mbappe did not decline after joining the French giants instead he won a lot of titles for them and is now the main player of PSG.
Is Salah better than Mbappe?
It would be unfair to name Salah as the better player. Salah must have achieved big titles with Liverpool in the Premier League along with European success but he is still not ahead of Mbappe. The likes of Mbappe are like Cristiano and Messi who can just not be compared to anyone else but themselves.
As things stand we can easily project for Mbappe to overtake the few aspects where he is behind Salah which makes him the clear winner.
What is the market value of Mo Salah and Kylian Mbappe?
The current market value of Kylian Mbappe is around £144.00m while the market value of Salah is £81.00m.
Who is the fastest between Mo Salah and Mbappe?
The PSG player Mbappe is the fastest player having a speed of 36 km/hr while Salah is not far behind with a top speed of 35 km/hr.
Who is better at defending Salah or Mbappe?
You will not see Mbappe going back to the defensive positions much during a match while Mo Salah makes a lot of aerial duels and tackles to help in both defence and attack.