Mohamed Salah vs Kevin De Bruyne – Who Comes Out On Top?

Mohamed Salah and Kevin De Bruyne are two of the top attacking talents in world football, but what do the numbers say about the pair?

Salah has firmly established himself as a legend at Liverpool FC after having arrived from AS Roma in the summer of 2017, while De Bruyne has lit up the Premier League with his sparkling performances for Manchester City since his switch to The Etihad two years earlier.

Whether you’re wondering whether to include Salah or De Bruyne in your fantasy football team or are simply interested to see how the numbers stack up between the pair, this article has got you covered.

So, with the introductions out of the way, let’s start taking a closer look at both Salah and De Bruyne.

Recent History And Introduction

One feature that these two players have in common is that they both had unsuccessful spells at Chelsea FC before being allowed to leave by the south west London club.

Mohamed Salah moved to Liverpool FC from AS Roma in the summer of 2017. The transfer fee was widely reported to be in the region of an initial £36.5m. He had previous spent a largely unsuccessful spell at Chelsea FC between 2014 and 2016.

Salah went on to quickly establish himself as one of Liverpool FC’s most important players, and his sparkling form in front of goal helped to fire the Reds to the Champions League title in the 2018-19 season, before helping them to win the Premier League in the following campaign.

Kevin De Bruyne officially signed for Manchester City from German side Wolfsburg in the summer of 2015. The fee was widely reported to be a club-record £55m, with the Belgian penning a six-year contract.

De Bruyne has established himself as one of the English top flight’s top talents and helped to fire the Citizens to four Premier League titles under Pep Guardiola.

Kevin De Bruyne (Photo: Vitalii Kliuiev / depositphotos.com)

Salah vs De Bruyne – League Form

Let’s now take a close look at how both Salah and De Bruyne have performed for their clubs in the Premier League in recent seasons.

In the 2020-21 campaign, Salah stared 34 of Liverpool FC’s 38 Premier League matches and made a further three appearances from the bench. He scored 22 goals and made five assists for the Merseyside outfit that term.

The 2021-22 season saw Salah start 30 of Liverpool FC’s 38 Premier League games, with a further five appearances as a substitute. That term, he scored 23 goals and made 13 assists for the Reds as they finished as runners-up behind Manchester City in the title race.

In the 2020-21 campaign, De Bruyne started 23 of Manchester City’s 38 Premier League games, with a further two appearances as a substitute. He netted six goals and made 12 assists that season.

In the 2021-22 season, De Bruyne started 25 of Manchester City’s 38 Premier League games, scoring 15 goals and making eight assists to help Guardiola’s side to win the title.

So, as you can see, Salah has been a more regular starter in the Liverpool FC team in recent seasons, but De Bruyne leads the way in terms of the number of assists he has provided for his team-mates.

Trent Alexander-Arnold with Mohamed Salah (Photo: @trentarnold66 / Instagram)

What About In Europe?

Let’s now take a look at how both Salah and De Bruyne have fared in Europe in recent seasons.

In the 2021-22 season, Salah was a key driving force behind helping Liverpool FC reach the Champions League final, with the Egypt international scoring eight goals and making two assists in 13 appearances in Europe’s elite club competition. In 2020-21, Salah scored six goals and made one assist in 10 Champions League games.

In the 2021-22 campaign, De Bruyne scored two goals and made three assists in 10 Champions League games to help them reach the semi-finals, where they were knocked out by eventual winners Real Madrid.

In the 2020-21 season, the Beglain netted three goals and made four assists in eight Champions League games. In the campaign before that, De Bruyne scored two goals and made two assists in seven Champions League games.

So, overall Salah has a better goal-scoring record in Europe than De Bruyne in recent seasons.

Mohamed Salah (Photo: Screengrab)

Salah vs De Bruyne – Head To Head In Front Of Goal

It’s now time to take look at what the stats say about both Salah and De Bruyne’s form in front of goal in recent seasons. The numbers below show the total number of club goals scored per season in all competitions.

• 2019-20 season:
Salah – 23 goals
De Bruyne – 16 goals

• 2020-21 season:
Salah – 31 goals
De Bruyne – 10 goals

• 2021-22 season:
Salah – 31 goals
De Bruyne – 19 goals

• Total:
Salah – 85 goals
De Bruyne – 45 goals

So, Salah is the more prolific of the two players in front of goal, with the Egypt international have almost scored twice as many goals as his Belgian counterpart at club level in recent years.

What About Their International Form?

Both Salah and De Bruyne are seasoned players at international level.

Salah made his senior debut for Egypt in September 2011. At the time of writing, Salah had scored an impressive 47 goals in 85 games for his country.

De Bruyne earned his first senior cap for Belgium in August 2010. Like Salah, he has been a regular fixture in his country’s team and had netted 24 goals in 91 games for Belgium at the time of writing.

What Club Trophies Have They Won?

Since their moves to England, De Bruyne is the more successful player in terms of Premier League titles. At the time of writing, the Belgian had won four Premier League titles, compared to Salah’s one.

De Bruyne has also won the FA Cup and five League Cup titles. Salah has won one Champions League title, plus the FA Cup and League Cup once each.

How Old Are Salah And De Bruyne?

Salah and De Bruyne were born around a year apart.

Salah was born on 15 June 1992 in Basyoun, Egypt and is currently 30 years old.

De Bruyne was born a year earlier on 28 June 1991 in Drongen, Belgium and is currently 31 years old.

Mohamed Salah (Photo: Adidas / Media Handout)

How Tall are Salah And De Bruyne?

De Bruyne is slightly taller than Salah, with the Belgian standing at 181cm (5ft 11ins) tall. Salah is 175cm or 5ft 9ins tall.

How Do Their Social Media Followings Compare?

Let’s now check out how popular the pair are on social media.

At the time of writing, Salah had 52.5m followers on Instagram, compared to De Bruyne’s 18.7m followers. On Twitter, Salah had 17.3m followers, compared to De Bruyne’s 3.7m followers.

And on Facebook, Salah boasted 16m followers, which was level with De Bruyne, who also had 16m followers.

Salah vs De Bruyne – In Conclusion

So, that brings us to the end of our detailed look at both Mohamed Salah and Kevin De Bruyne.

We’ve taken a close look at what the numbers say about both of these players, paying particularly close attention to their form in front of goal over the years.

If you’re wondering whether to include Salah or De Bruyne in your fantasy football team, both players are of a similar age and are naturally going to be great options thanks to their track record in the league, but Salah’s numbers are probably slightly more favourable.