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ESPN pundit picks who he thinks was better for Liverpool out of John Barnes and Mohamed Salah
John Barnes and Mohamed Salah are up there with some of the greatest attackers to have played for Liverpool in the club’s decorated history.
Salah’s exploits in the modern day need no introduction,𒁏 with the Egyptian racking up goals and assists aplenty since moving to the club in the summer of 2017.
He has won seven major trophies at Anfield and was the leading man in attack for Jurgen Klopp’s all-conquering side.
Barnes, on the o♑ther hand, enjoyed a ten-year stint with Liverpool after joining the club in 1987 and won five major honours – including two league titles.
It’s quite difficult to compare two players who played in different eras, but Steve Nicol believes his fo﷽rmer teammate was a better player in his prime 🐼than Salah.
Liverpool legend Steve Nicol picks John Barnes over Mohamed Salah
Nicol himself enjoyed a hugely successful 13-year car🌃eer at Anfield between 1981 and 1994 and shared the dressing room𝔍 with Barnes for six seasons.
When asked to pick the better player between Salah and Barnes during their primes, Niಞcol showed no hesitation in picking his former teammate, describing his overall gameplay as the decisive 🧜factor.
“I’ve got to go with Barnes and I’ll tell you the reason. If he was playing today, with the amount of space everyone gets then Barnsey would be scoring goals for fun,” 🔥Nicol said on ESPN FC.
“You can say he’d be scoring as many goals as Salah but in terms of his all-round football abilꦓity – he’s a better footballer than Salah.
“Is he a better finisher than Salah? It’s🎃 tight. But in all-round terms, Barnesy is a better footballer than Salah.”
Comparing Barnes and Salah’s Liverpool careers
Barnes scored 107 goals and notched 98 assists across𒁃 406 appearances in all competitions for Liverpool.
He also won two league titles during th🍒e club’s era of dominance and was named PFA Players’ Player of the Year during the 1987-88 league season.
Primarily a winger, Barnes was consistently deployed as a central midfielder during the latter part of his Liverpool career and injuries and age♓ took a toll on his p﷽ace and ability to take players on.
Salaꦿh, on the other hand, has scored a staggering 214 goals and recorded 92 assists in 352 appearances for Liverpool since joining the club in 2017.
The Egyptian has also won countless personal accolades during his time at the club and is Liverpool’s top goalscorer in the Premier League era (158), while he has won the PFA Pl𓄧ayer of the Year Award two times (2017-18 and 2021-22).
In terms๊ of personal accolades and sheer numbers, Salah’s record✅ speaks for itself.
However, football isn’t just played on paper and it is important to acknowledge 🍸that Barnes’ contributions to the club go well beyond🍨 just numbers.
Regardless of who one prefers between the pair, both Salah and Barnes will be remember🍨ed for years to come for what they’ve done for Liverpool.
What does the future hold for Salah?
With his ꩵcontract running out next summer, the Reds face an important spell ahead of them to tie꧙ him down to a new deal.
Salaꩲh𝓡 revealed Liverpool are yet to open talks with him and as things stand, he is set to leav𒆙e on a ❀free transfer next summer.
David Ornstein, on the other hand, believes Richard Hughes is tasked with handli🌌ng Salah’s future as the Liverpool Sporting Director aims to weigh out all possibilities before making a🌼 decision.
It remains to be seen what happens, but losing Salah – who is one of Liverpool’s greatest-ever players – on a free transfer could turn out to be catastrophic for the club under new manager Arne Slot.