Ian Rush played 15 seasons for Liverpool, becoming the club’s record goalscorer in the process. He’s played with a host of all-time greats, including John Barnes, Robbie Fowler and Kenny Dalglish. However, Rush considers one current Liverpool star to be their greatest player of the Premier League era.
The former Welsh international striker named the modern icon Mohamed Salah as the “best Premier League player Liverpool have had.”
Speaking to Talksport, Rush shared his thoughts on the Egyptian superstar. He added:
“He is really, really special, you know. I was very lucky to have played with Kenny Dalglish so I’m not complaining about my strike partner, but Mohammed he is a fantastic player and it would have been a joy to have played with him.”
Salah Chases Rush’s Liverpool Record
The Egyptian king eyes Rush’s crown
Salah may be Liverpool’s highest goalscorer in the Premier League era, but he has a long way to go to match the scoring feats of Rush. The Welshman scored an impressive 339 goals in 653 appearances for the Reds, smashing the previous record set by Roger Hunt in the 1960s.
The Egyptian sits third on Liverpool’s all-time top goalscorers list, behind only Rush and Hunt, with 240 goals in 386 appearances for the Anfield club.
|
Player |
Goals |
Matches |
Goals per game |
|
Ian Rush |
339 |
653 |
0.52 |
|
Roger Hunt |
274 |
466 |
0.59 |
|
Mohamed Salah |
240 |
386 |
0.62 |
|
Billy Lidell |
203 |
492 |
0.41 |
|
Steven Gerrard |
186 |
710 |
0.26 |
Salah has played the fewest matches of the players in the top 5 and has the highest goals per game. However, at his current scoring rate, the winger will need to play another 160 matches for the club to equal Rush’s record goal tally.
Rush and Salah have joked about the latter’s pursuit of the goal record. Rush said: “He’s looking at my goal record, so you never know. But he always says to me that I counted my goals in training!”
However, Rush hopes to see Salah in a Liverpool shirt for many more years, even if that puts his place in the record books at risk. He said: “He’s a joy to watch, let’s let him play and whatever happens happens.”
Like every other Liverpool fan, Rush has enjoyed the club’s rise to the top of the table under manager Arne Slot, and he is full of praise for the new manager. He said: “It’s a different approach to Jurgen (Klopp), but it’s a more patient one. What he has done so far is absolutely incredible.”
The Welshman will hope Salah’s prolific run of form this season, which has seen him score 24 goals already, continues as Slot’s side chase top honours both domestically and in Europe. Even if that means the modern-day club legend moves a little closer to replacing him in the Liverpool record books.
Liverpool have had some world-class players over the years, with Fernando Torres, Steven Gerrard, and Mohamed Salah all featuring.