Premier League legend Alan Shearer was recently faced with the impossible task of choosing between Cristiano Ronaldo and Mohamed Salah, among other issues. The pundit spoke to Goal at the 50th PFA Awards, where he was asked to choose from a group of players.
The Premier League’s record goalscorer has been asked to make a tough choice between some of the league’s biggest names. He was asked to choose between two former Premier League and Real Madrid forwards, Gareth Bale and Eden Hazard, and he chose the latter.
Shearer also had to choose between a pair of Liverpool superstar forwards Mohamed Salah and Luis Suarez, with the Englishman choosing Salah. Given a choice between Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard and two-time Premier League champion N’Golo Kante, he chose the former.
Shearer picked Wayne Rooney over former Manchester United team-mate Robin Van Persie and then Cristiano Ronaldo over Thierry Henry.
Former Newcastle United and Blackburn Rovers striker Shearer has enjoyed huge success in the Premier League. He holds the league scoring record with 260 goals and won a league title with Blackburn Rovers. He briefly managed the Magpies before taking on a full specialist role over the past few years.
Mohamed Salah and Cristiano Ronaldo are iconic Premier League forwards
When it comes to the greatest strikers in the Premier League this century, it’s impossible not to consider Mohamed Salah and Cristiano Ronaldo. The pair have left their mark on the league in memorable ways, and have done so in different ways.
Mohamed Salah has endured a disappointing spell at Chelsea, falling behind many of his regulars under Mourinho. He was loaned out on several occasions before leaving Roma permanently in 2016.
When he returned to the league with Liverpool a year later, the Egyptian had already honed his skills in Italy and showed what he was capable of. He scored 32 goals in his first season, tying the league’s single-season scoring record at the time, and led the team to win the Premier League championship in 2020.
Salah became Liverpool’s all-time Premier League scorer with 142 goals, ranking 14th in total goals.
Cristiano Ronaldo, on the other hand, impressed in the pre-season against Manchester United after joining from Sporting Lisbon as a teenager. The Portuguese striker rose to fame at Old Trafford and won the Ballon d’Or in 2008, making him the last Premier League player to win the honour.
After an absence of 12 years, he returned to the club in 2021 and scored 18 league goals. Overall, he scored 103 goals and provided 39 assists in 236 Premier League games.
Like most Premier League legends, Shearer respects the achievements of Salah and Ronaldo. While neither of them broke their own goalscoring record, they left their mark in unique ways.