Mo Salah’s Legacy at Liverpool and the Debate Over His World-Class Status | OneFootball

Mo Salah and Liverpool: Dismantling the ‘Not World Class’ Narrative

Mo Salah’s status as a world-class footballer should not be up for debate. Yet again, a controversy brewed after former striker Troy Deeney questioned Salah’s big-game performances. In a recent Daily Red Podcast episode, Dave Hendrick passionately took apart that argument, defending both Liverpool’s talisman and the club’s current trajectory under manager Arne Slot.

Analysing the Cup Final Fallout

Liverpool’s recent League Cup final loss led to an overreaction online. As Hendrick aptly put it, “We lost the Cup Final – it’s the League Cup, wasn’t a Champions League, wasn’t even an FA Cup.” He reminded listeners that Liverpool remain in a strong position, “top of the league, 12 points clear, nine games left.”

The criticism towards individual players was sharp but fair. “Jota was awful. Diaz was awful,” Hendrick said bluntly. He emphasised that these underperformances shouldn’t shock fans, adding, “We’ve all been saying for months that Darwin should be sold in the summer.”

Mo Salah, however, was judged by a different standard, despite not playing particularly poorly. “He had a bad afternoon and even then Mo himself didn’t have that bad a game – we just let him down. We didn’t get him the ball.” Hendrick cited Salah’s low involvement: “I think he had 23 touches in the game… Harvey Elliott had as many touches as Mo – what kind of Tomfoolery is that?”

Tearing Down the ‘Not World Class’ Take

Troy Deeney’s assertion that Salah isn’t world class due to his finals record drew a sharp rebuke. “It’s a very, very strange thing how Mohamed Salah is continuously judged on a very different curve to anybody else,” Hendrick observed. Deeney claimed Salah hasn’t delivered in major finals, but the context tells a different story.

“He gets taken out of the game on 30 minutes by Sergio Ramos… so there’s no way on Earth you can hold that final against Mo,” Hendrick noted about the 2018 Champions League final. Even when Salah did score — notably a penalty early in the 2019 final — detractors dismissed it. “Apparently anybody could just step up… and score a penalty… in a Champions League final. Apparently that’s easy.”

Hendrick contrasted Salah’s career to those Deeney held up as world class. “There is no world in which Eden Hazard was ever a better player than Mo Salah. None,” he said, arguing that Salah’s consistency far outweighs the short-lived peaks of players like Hazard or Ronaldinho.

“Mo’s been unbelievable for eight years,” he continued. “He’s going to break the all-time record for goals and assists in a season. He might break the assist record.”

Salah’s Record Speaks for Itself

Hendrick rattled off Salah’s output to shut down any lingering doubt: “44 goals and 14 assists in 52 games… 27 and 10 in 52… 31 and six in 51… 30 and 16 in 51… 25 and 14 in 44.” These are not numbers of a merely ‘good’ player.

“Mo Salah is a top two attacker in Premier League history – and he might not be number two,” he declared. He also reminded listeners of Salah’s international exploits, saying, “He has 59 goals in 103 games while carrying a dreadful Egyptian team.”

As Hendrick summarised: “Mo Salah is and has been for a very long time world class. Best in class. He’s the best right winger in the world and has been since Leo Messi decided he didn’t want to play right wing anymore.”

Conclusion

This Daily Red Podcast episode was a masterclass in defending facts over noise. Dave Hendrick didn’t just refute a bad take — he buried it in statistics, context, and historical perspective. Liverpool’s continued dominance this season owes much to Mo Salah. Despite criticism, his output and consistency prove he remains not just world class — but among the very best to ever grace the Premier League.