'Pharaoh' Mohamed Salah (33, Liverpool) has written another piece of Premier League (PL) history.
Liverpool announced on its official website on the 14th (Korea time) that "Salah has won the PL Player of the Month award for the 7th time in his career. He contributed to the team's consistent title challenge with an impressive 10 attacking points in February."
Salah soared in his performance during the 6 PL matches held in February, scoring 6 goals and providing 4 assists. Thanks to him, Liverpool secured 4 wins and 2 draws, leading the league standings. According to football statistics media 'Opta', a supercomputer simulation shows that Liverpool's title-winning probability exceeds 99%.
Liverpool explained, "Salah scored multiple goals to finish the match against Bournemouth and netted the opener against Manchester City. He also provided 4 assists to his teammates. He beat out competition from Betou, Jean-Philippe Mateta, Yankuba Minte, Jed Spence, and his teammate Dominik Szoboszlai to win the award."
With this award, Salah has also set a new PL record. He was selected as the Player of the Month for the 7th time, following November 2017, February 2018, March 2018, October 2021, October 2023, and November 2024, sharing the top spot for most awards in the category with Sergio Agüero and Harry Kane (7 times).
Salah is having a phenomenal season. The same age as Son Heung-min, he has recorded 32 goals and 22 assists in official matches this season, showing a 'second prime' at age 32. He is on pace to surpass the 44 goals and 14 assists he achieved in his debut season with Liverpool in 2017-2018.
Notably, Salah has amassed an impressive record of 27 goals and 17 assists in just 29 league matches. If he continues at this rate, breaking the all-time record for the most attacking points in a single PL season is just a matter of time.
Currently, the record is held by Andy Cole from the 1993-1994 season and Alan Shearer from the 1994-1995 season, both with 47 points. Salah would surpass them if he scores 4 more goals in the remaining 9 matches.
If Salah wins the PL Player of the Month award just one more time, he will set a new record. Agüero has already retired from active duty, and Kane has left the PL to join Bayern Munich, meaning there are virtually no competitors left.
However, Salah's future remains unclear. His contract with Liverpool expires in June, but there has been no news regarding a renewal. Reports of progress in negotiations have been scarce.
Salah has also spoken up about it directly. In late November last year, he said, "Well, December is almost here. But I haven't received any offers from the club to stay. It's more likely that I will leave rather than stay here," adding, "It's not in my hands. As I said, it's December, and I haven't received anything about my future yet."
It seems Salah wants to stay at Liverpool. After finishing a match against Manchester United last September, he said, "This could be my last game. No one at the club has talked to me about a contract. That's why I thought, 'Okay. I'm playing my last season.' I will see what happens at the end of the season." This statement raised concerns among his fans.
According to European football transfer market expert Fabrizio Romano, both sides are still in negotiations. There has been no agreement on details such as salary or bonuses, and it is reported that there are differences in the financial aspects.
[Photo] Sky Sports, Liverpool, Premier League, ESPN FC social media.
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