Mohamed Salah achieves European record that neither Lionel Messi nor Cristiano Ronaldo reached

Mohamed Salah keeps adding to his résumé after his move to Turkey. The Egyptian forward scored and assisted in Trabzonspor’s 4-2 Conference League win at KuPS. That performance added another match to a statistic that neither Lionel Messi nor Cristiano Ronaldo has matched in Europe since 2017-18.

According to statistics network Opta, Salah has both scored and assisted in 13 different major European matches since the 2017-18 season. The Egyptian forward has four more than any other player, which means neither Messi, Ronaldo nor anyone else has more than nine.

Salah set up Paul Onuachu for the opening goal in the third minute and then scored Trabzonspor’s second in the 44th, completing his 13th game with both a goal and an assist before halftime. It was a debut to remember in the Conference League, in the opening match of Trabzonspor’s league-phase campaign.

Salah arrived at Trabzonspor in August as a free agent after nine seasons at Liverpool, where he scored 257 goals in 442 appearances. He signed a two-year contract, and he has hit the ground running in the Super Lig as well, reaching 10 goal contributions in his first seven league games, a record start.

Ronaldo and Messi chase 1,000 career goals

Salah’s record is a reminder of how Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have set the standard for individual production in the modern era, even in areas where neither reached the same mark. The two icons are still measured by the numbers they keep adding, and the next big milestone on the table is 1,000 career goals.

Ronaldo is the one closest to the finish line. With 981 career goals, the Portuguese forward sits just 19 short of the 1,000 mark, a number that once seemed unreachable. Messi, meanwhile, has 934 and needs 66 more, so the Argentine would have to keep up his scoring pace for a long time to get there.

Salah’s 13 matches with a goal and an assist show that he is still writing his own chapter, even as Messi and Ronaldo keep setting the benchmark. With Ronaldo closing in on 1,000 goals and Messi still adding to his total, the three forwards continue to push the limits of what was thought possible well into their 30s.