There are footballers who score goals, and then there are footballers who write history with every strike. Mohamed Salah belongs to the second group. Every time the Egyptian King steps onto the pitch, he carries the weight of Liverpool’s hopes, the pride of Africa, and the admiration of millions around the world. And on a tense Sunday at Turf Moor, with the clock ticking deep into stoppage time, Salah did it again. A penalty in the 95th minute, coolly dispatched into the net, not only rescued Liverpool from dropping points but also wrote his name higher on the golden pages of Premier League history. With that one kick of the ball, Salah climbed to fourth in the all-time scorers list of the English top flight, moving ahead of Manchester United legend Andy Cole. It was more than just a goal, it was another milestone in a career that has already left fans running out of words.
The story of that night in Burnley will be told again and again. Jeremie Frimpong’s cross crashed into the outstretched arm of Hannibal Mejbri. The referee pointed to the spot. Turf Moor roared with fury, the Burnley players protested, but Salah knew it was his moment. Standing over the ball, he blocked out the noise, the pressure, the doubts. He had been here too many times before. For him, the penalty spot is a stage, and he is the performer who never misses his cue. The goalkeeper tried to guess, the crowd tried to rattle him, but Salah was ice-cold. His right foot struck the ball clean, the net bulged, and Liverpool erupted. The away fans bounced, the players swarmed him, and Turf Moor fell into silence. One more win for Liverpool, one more chapter for Salah.
But beyond the three points, this goal meant something even bigger. It was goal number 188 in the Premier League for Mohamed Salah, moving him past Andy Cole and into fourth place in the all-time list. Now only Wayne Rooney, Harry Kane, and Alan Shearer stand above him. Rooney’s 208 goals are only twenty away, Kane’s 213 just twenty-five, and Salah still has time, still has hunger. Alan Shearer’s 260 may seem untouchable, but Salah has made a career out of breaking barriers and proving people wrong. Who can really say it is impossible?
To think where this journey began makes the achievement even sweeter. Back in 2014, Salah arrived in England for the first time, joining Chelsea from Basel. He was fast, tricky, and full of potential, but Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea never gave him a real chance. He struggled, he was loaned out, and eventually, he left for Italy, carrying the label of a Premier League flop. Many thought that was the end of his English story. But Salah is not the kind of man who accepts defeat. At Fiorentina and then AS Roma, he rebuilt himself. He scored, he assisted, he ran at defenders with fire in his eyes. Liverpool saw what others ignored. In 2017, they paid €42m to bring him back to England, and the rest is history.
Since then, Salah has broken record after record. He holds the record for the most goals in a 38-game Premier League season. He has scored in more consecutive home games for Liverpool than anyone before him. He has the most goals against Manchester United of any Premier League player. He is Liverpool’s all-time leading Premier League scorer. And now, at 33, he has entered the top four of all scorers in the league’s history. Thierry Henry, Sergio Agüero, Robbie Fowler—he has passed them all. Only Rooney, Kane, and Shearer remain in front of him.
This latest milestone comes just months after Salah extended his contract with Liverpool until 2027. Many wondered if the Egyptian was past his peak, if the time had come for Liverpool to move on. But Salah has answered those doubts with his feet. He has shown that even with Hugo Ekitike arriving, even with Alexander Isak breaking transfer records, even with younger stars coming through, he remains the man who makes the difference. Liverpool can spend £100m or £125m on attackers, but when the game is stuck at 0-0 in the 95th minute, it is still Salah who steps forward.
His market value on Transfermarkt may have dropped to €50m, but that number is only money. His true value is beyond measure. How do you put a price on a man who has scored 324 goals in his career across all competitions? How do you value a player with 162 assists, who changes games, who inspires teammates, who carries a nation’s pride? Numbers cannot capture the aura, the fear he brings to defenders, the joy he gives to supporters.
Liverpool fans know what they have. They know that Salah is more than just a goalscorer. He is a symbol of resilience, a player who came back from rejection to dominate the biggest league in the world. He is a leader by example, a man who shows up in the biggest moments. And this moment at Turf Moor, this penalty that lifted him above Andy Cole, will be remembered not just as a statistic but as a piece of theatre, another episode in the legend of Mo Salah.
For the Premier League itself, Salah’s rise is a story that defines the competition. He is one of the greatest imports in English football, a player who arrived from outside and left a mark so deep that he stands alongside Shearer, Rooney, and Kane in history. He has surpassed Henry, who once ruled England with Arsenal’s Invincibles. He has gone beyond Aguero, Manchester City’s finest. He has overtaken Fowler, Liverpool’s own God. Salah has climbed past them all, step by step, goal by goal.
And still, he is not finished. With a contract until 2027, he has at least two more full seasons at Liverpool. If he continues at his usual rate, Rooney and Kane’s tallies are not safe. Shearer’s record of 260 might look distant, but for Salah, distance has never been a barrier. Every time people draw a line in front of him, he crosses it. Every time someone says he cannot, he does.
When the history of the Premier League is written, Salah’s name will shine. Not just because of the goals, but because of the way he scored them. The curlers into the top corner. The left-foot rockets. The runs past defenders that left them spinning. The cool penalties under impossible pressure. The consistency, year after year, season after season. He has been in England for eight years now, and not once has his fire dimmed.
Burnley was only the latest proof. Liverpool struggled all afternoon. Ekitike was invisible, Isak was not yet ready, the midfield huffed and puffed but could not break through. Burnley defended with ten men after Ugochukwu’s red card, yet they stood tall. It looked like two points dropped, frustration creeping in, the gap at the top shrinking. And then came Salah. The penalty was not just about winning the match, it was about keeping Liverpool top of the table, about defending their title, about sending a message to rivals that champions find a way.
And while fans celebrate the three points, the milestone cannot be ignored. 188 goals. Ahead of Andy Cole. Fourth in history. The boy from Nagrig, Egypt, who once looked too small, too raw, too unready at Chelsea, is now sitting with the giants of English football. Rooney, Kane, Shearer—they know Salah is coming.
In the days after the game, the conversations will keep rolling. Can he catch Rooney this season? Will he surpass Kane by the time his contract ends? Could he even reach Shearer if his body allows him? Nobody knows for sure, but nobody is betting against Salah anymore. He has already defied every doubt, every dismissal, every obstacle.
Liverpool’s squad may be valued at €1.12bn, packed with stars and new signings, but Salah remains the crown jewel. His market value may read €50m, but for Liverpool fans, for Premier League history, and for football itself, he is priceless.
At 33, many players begin to fade, to slow down, to accept that their best days are behind them. Salah is not like many players. His best days are still here, still being written, one penalty, one winner, one record at a time. Turf Moor was another reminder, another celebration, another reason why he is adored.
And so, as Liverpool marched back to Merseyside, top of the table, unbeaten, still dreaming of another title, their fans sang his name again. Mo Salah. The King of Egypt. The man who makes history feel normal. The man who makes the impossible look routine. The man who now sits fourth in Premier League history, still hungry, still chasing, still writing.
