Cristiano Ronaldo vs Mohamed Salah: Who was the better player?

Cristiano Ronaldo and Mohamed Salah are two of the greatest footballers of the 21st century.

Throughout the last number of years, they have provided football fans with memorable moments, stunning goals and jaw-dropping abs (both guys are absolutely jacked).

Although it's not really up for debate who's had the better career overall - Ronaldo's time at Real Madrid made him one of the GOATs of the game - there isn't too much to separate the pair when it comes to performances in the Premier League.

As part of our 'best Premier League players of all time' series, we've had a go at separating the pair's careers in England to decide who was better...

Peak season

During his peak season (so far at least) in the Premier League, Mohamed Salah scored 32 goals and created 10 for his teammates as he won the PFA Player of the Year, FWA Footballer of the Year and the Premier League Golden Boot in a year which Liverpool finished fourth.

During his peak season in the Premier League, Cristiano Ronaldo scored 31 goals and created six for his teammates as he won the PFA Player of the Year, FWA Footballer of the Year, the Premier League and the Ballon d'Or in a year which Manchester United finished first.

While the stats suggest that Salah had a slightly better season, one can't overlook the fact that Ronaldo was literally the best footballer in the world in 2008 and Salah was considered the fifth best in 2019 according to the Ballon d'Or voting panel.

Winner: Ronaldo.

Goalscoring

In the Premier League, Salah has scored more and scored at a better minutes-per-goal rate than Ronaldo ever did.

That is a fact.

What is also a fact is that we can't sit hear in good conscious and say that anyone has ever been a better goalscorer that CR7.

Ronaldo is quite literally the highest scoring footballer ever.

Playmaking

Roberto Firmino recently revealed how frustrated Sadio Mane had been over Salah's apparent 'ball-hogging', but the Egyptian's assists stats are surprisingly impressive.

To date, Salah has accumulated a tally of 63 assists over the course of his Premier League career with Liverpool and Chelsea (only the one with Chelsea, if you're wondering), and even won the Playmaker of the Season award in 2021/22.

Ronaldo, during his two spells in England's top flight, managed 37.

By 26 assists, Salah takes this category.

Overall

Salah has been an utterly exceptional player throughout his time at Liverpool, but he's up against a top ten footballer of all time in this article.

Premier League fans bore witness to the start of Ronaldo's utterly remarkable career in football. And even though he hadn't quite hit the heights he would go on to at Real Madrid yet, the fact his burgeoning talents were still good enough for him to become only the second Ballon d'Or winner in the division's history speaks volumes about how outstanding he truly was.

READ MORE FROM 90MIN'S TOP 50 PREMIER LEAGUE PLAYERS OF ALL TIME SERIES