Mohamed Salah, Thierry Henry and the greatest individual Premier League seasons ever – ranked

Manchester United probably would have won every single Premier League title for a decade had Sir Alex Ferguson been able to convince Alan Shearer to move to Old Trafford in the summer of 1992. However, the England international opted instead to join Blackburn Rovers, whom he fired to their first championship success for 81 years in 1995 with 34 goals in 42 matches.

As former Rovers defender Colin Hendry subsequently said, “You can’t talk about that season without mentioning Alan Shearer. His number of goals says everything about him and how important he was to us. You obviously need good players in every position to win the league, but you need goals and he was a world-class player.”

On November 27, 1992, Leeds United sensationally agreed to sell Eric Cantona to Manchester United just months after he had fired Howard Wilkinson’s side to the First Division title. It was a transfer that would alter the course of English football history.

United had been struggling terribly until the Frenchman’s arrival at Old Trafford. They were crying out for a goal-scorer; what they got was an icon. “He just had that aura and presence,” former United midfielder Paul Ince explained. “He took responsibility away from us. It was like he said: ‘I’m Eric, and I’m here to win the title for you’.”

Cantona did exactly that, inspiring United to a first top-flight Championship triumph since 1967 with his wonderful ability to both score and create goals.

John Terry may not be everyone’s cup of tea as a person, but there’s no questioning his qualities as a player. Chelsea’s homegrown hero really was a captain, a leader and a legend all rolled into one.

Terry spent nearly two full decades in the senior squad at Stamford Bridge and he was utterly integral to the Blues establishing themselves as a major force in English football. Indeed, Terry was voted PFA Players’ Player of the Year in 2004-05, after leading Chelsea to their first top-flight title for 50 years by expertly marshalling a defence that conceded just 15 goals in 38 games – a Premier League record that still stands today.

“He’s absolutely amazing,” then-Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho said. “For me he’s the most complete central defender in the world.”

It’s funny to think about it now, but some pundits didn’t believe that Erling Haaland would prove as prolific in England as he had been in Germany – particularly after an unimpressive performance in Manchester City’s 2022 Community Shield loss to Liverpool.

However, the Norwegian didn’t waste any time in silencing the sceptics. The striker scored twice on his Premier League debut and ended up breaking the single-season record with 36 goals in just 35 appearances.

“It is unbelievable,” Pep Guardiola said. “He is a unique person. He’s a special player but also a special person. It is an incredible milestone.”

If not the most dominant midfielder the Premier League has ever seen, certainly its most fearsome. Roy Keane was Sir Alex Ferguson’s perfect Manchester United captain, a snarling perfectionist who set standards in terms of commitment to the cause that everyone else at the club simply had to follow.

Keane was obviously renowned for his tenacity, but he was also a fantastic footballer capable of dictating the pace of games, and he was at the absolute peak of his powers in 1999-2000, when he was named both PFA and FWA Player of the Year after leading United to a second consecutive Premier League title.

Ferguson was “delighted” that Keane received some individual recognition for his incredibly influential and consistent displays, but also couldn’t resist taking a shot at the FWA for overlooking the Irishman’s contribution to United’s treble triumph in 1999.

“This award makes up for last year,” the Scot said, “when I thought Roy should have been Footballer of the Year.”

Having lost all of his confidence under Jose Mourinho at Chelsea, Mohamed Salah had revived his career in Serie A, first with Fiorentina and then Roma, before arriving at Anfield in July 2017.

Nobody at Anfield expected the Egyptian to be quite so prolific in the Premier League. Jurgen Klopp, let’s not forget, had actually been more in favour of signing Julian Brandt.

However, Klopp was quickly blown away by Salah – just like everyone else in England, as the winger broke the Premier League single-season goals record in his very first year at the club by netting 32 times in 36 outings.

Pele pretty much spoke for everyone when he said, “What a season! It’s been great to watch you.”

Luis Suarez was inconsolable after the dramatic 3-3 draw with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park that effectively killed Liverpool’s 2013-14 title challenge – and it was easy to understand why. The Uruguayan may not be a particularly likeable character, but nobody would dispute the fact that he did more than anyone to try end the Reds’ championship drought.

For a significant chunk of the season, Suarez was simply unstoppable, a relentless force of nature up front that terrorised defenders with his pressing and incredible ability to retain possession in the smallest of spaces.

He scored 31 times in just 33 Premier League appearances to win the Golden Boot and the European Golden Shoe, while he was also named the PFA and FWA Player of the Year.

“It’s a rare combination, to be a miraculous footballer who is willing to use his gifts to selflessly assist and create goals for a team-mate,” Steven Gerrard later wrote in tribute to the man he considers the best player he’s ever lined up alongside.

Cristiano Ronaldo proved himself the best player in England in 2006-07. The following season, the Manchester United attacker proved himself the best player in the world.

The Portuguese had arrived at Old Trafford as a skinny teenager boasting a wonderful array of tricks and flicks. By 2008, he had become a physical freak, an imposing figure that was as powerful as he was effective.

Ronaldo scored 31 times in just 34 Premier League appearances as he won not only the Golden Boot but also the European Golden Shoe, making his first Ballon d’Or triumph a formality.

“Cristiano really deserved it when you look at what he did this year,” former United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said. “Forty-two goals [in all competitions] from a wing position is amazing.”

Pavel Nedved was as surprised as everyone else when he won the 2003 Ballon d’Or ahead of Thierry Henry. “For me, Thierry is the best forward in the world now,” the Czech said at the time – and he wasn’t wrong.

Henry’s Arsenal may have flopped in Europe, failing to even make the knockout stages of the 2002-03 Champions League, but the Frenchman was unstoppable in the Premier League, becoming the first (and still only) player to both score and create 20 or more goals in a single season.

As then-Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said, “None of the great goal-scorers in history can compare with his assist record.”