How the speed of Mohamed Salah’s Liverpool century compares to other modern-day greats

It’s official: Mohamed Salah is a Liverpool goalscoring centurion.
After his stunning volley in the Merseyside derby, the Egyptian has drawn level with Kevin Keegan on 100 goals across all competitions in the red of Liverpool. It’s a phenomenal achievement, especially in the modern game, for a forward to score 100 goals at a single club. What’s made the feat even more impressive is that it’s taken Salah just 159 games to reach this total, he’s been exceptionally prolific.
But where does Salah stand up against some of the other great goalscorers of the modern era? Did he bag his century faster than they did? Or were they even faster on the draw than the Egyptian has been? We had a look!
Mohamed Salah
Liverpool (2017-present)
Date of 100th goal: 17/10/2020
Games Played: 159
What can you say about Salah that hasn’t already been said? A genuinely world-class attacking talent who has matured under Jurgen Klopp to become one of the very best players in the world. A devastating goalscoring force.
Harry Kane
Spurs (2013-present)
Date of 100th goal: 9/9/2017
Games Played: 169
Harry Kane hasn’t looked quite the same since the 2018 World Cup but leading up to that competition he was an absolutely ferocious goalscoring presence, leading from the front as Spurs became a major player in the Premier League. His century of goals came in 169 goals which means he was only just slower than Salah to reach the milestone.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Manchester United (2003-2009)
Date of 100th goal: 15/11/2008
Games Played: 253
Probably the best overall wing-forward in the Premier League, before Salah, was Cristiano Ronaldo. He joined the league as an 18-year-old and had three years of inconsistency before turning into a goalscoring phenom. As a result he took over 250 games to record his century of goals for Manchester United. He would pick up the pace later, however…
Sergio Aguero
Manchester City (2011-present)
Date of 100th goal: 12/4/2015
Games Played: 158
Sergio Aguero’s seasons are often riddled with injury, which has actually limited his goal output considerably. Aguero always seems to score when he plays though, and as a result has more than 250 goals – but that first century came in 158 times so he only just beat Salah by a single game (he also won two Premier League titles to Salah’s one during that timeframe).
Robert Lewandowski
Bayern Munich (2014-present)
Date of 100th goal: 11/3/2017
Games Played: 136
Robert Lewandowski secured a century of goals for Borussia Dorutmund but basically did it near the end of his time there, so it wasn’t as interesting or impressive as his achievement at Bayern. The Polish striker hit the ground running and clocked up a his first century of Bayern goals in just 156 games. An incredibly low total that Salah was unable to match.
Wayne Rooney
Manchester United (2004-2017)
Date of 100th goal: 22/8/2009
Games Played: 242
Wayne Rooney was Roberto Firmino before Roberto Firmino was Roberto Firmino. Of course he later turned into a fine striker in his own right, but the tactical roles he used to play severely limited his goal output, hence needing a massive 242 games to clock a century.
Thierry Henry
Arsenal (1999-2007)
Date of 100th goal: 12/1/2003
Games Played: 181
Taking it old-school for one of the Premier League’s undisputed two best players, Thierry Henry was magical to watch in the red and white of Arsenal. Despite a slow start to life in London the swaggering Frenchman exploded so intensely that, whilst he didn’t quite match Salah’s speed, he did score at a good clip and played with even more elegance.
Lionel Messi
Barcelona (2004-present)
Date of 100th goal: 16/1/2010
Games Played: 188
The greatest player in the world was once an injury-prone wreck. Young Messi actually played a lot like Salah does, and when he wasn’t on the treatment table he was absolute magic to watch. He reached his first century in 188 games, slower than Salah, but after that the tactical evolution in his game (as well as his goal production) shot up. Now he’s an immortal with over six centuries of goals for Barcelona.
Luis Suárez
Barcelona (2014-2020)
Date of 100th goal: 11/1/2017
Games Played: 120
Liverpool’s talismanic genius before Salah was Luis Suárez. The Uruguayan never got a century for Liverpool but after moving to Barcelona he only needed a minuscule 120 games to slam home 100 goals. He blows Salah out of the water in terms of speed, although the fact that the Egyptian has made his legend with Liverpool should make up for that.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Real Madrid (2009-2018)
Date of 100th goal: 2/11/2011
Games Played: 105
After taking an age to bag a century with Manchester United, Ronaldo took off with Real Madrid on a rocketship. Cristiano turned into such a singular goalscorer that he became nigh-on unstoppable. The Portuguese scored his first Madrid century in just 105 games… nearly a goal a game! And what’s wild is he got even faster, ending his Madrid career with more goals (450) than he had played games (438). Salah’s been fast, but Cristiano in Madrid remains the gold standard of goalscoring.