Sports
Mikel Obi picks best Premier League player of all time, snubs Ronaldo, Drogba, Salah
Former Chelsea midfielder John Mikel Obi has picked Thierry Henry, a former Arsenal striker, as the finest player in Premier League history.
Over the years, the English top flight has produced some fantastic footballers, sparking continuous disputes about who the greatest player of all time is.
Many would prefer Newcastle United’s Alan Shearer, who leads the all-time goalscoring list with 260.
Others believe former Manchester United striker Cristiano Ronaldo is the greatest, despite spending only six years in England.
Most Chelsea fans would argue that Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard, and John Terry deserve acknowledgment for their impact between 2004 and 2015.
Meanwhile, current Liverpool winger Mohamed Salah is firmly in the conversation, with 178 goals and 82 assists.
However, Mikel Obi, who played alongside Lampard, Drogba, and Terry, believes Salah has not done enough to be named the greatest player in Premier League history.
“Numbers-wise, you can put Salah in the conversation, but when you want to talk about a complete player, you can’t put him in the conversation,” Mikel said on the Obi One Podcast.
“I’m a huge fan of Salah; he’s my friend. I knew him from my days at Chelsea, although he’s a different Salah now—so confident, mentally and physically stronger.
“The best player to have played in the Premier League is Thierry Henry. There was a period when he dominated the league for two to three years. He had everything—he was so good on the ball, he had everything.”
Liverpool winger, Mohamed Salah, on Saturday, surpassed Chelsea legend, Frank Lampard’s goal record in the Premier League.
The Egyptian international achieved the feat after scoring a brace in Liverpool’s away Premier League 2-0 win against Bournemouth.
The match was played at the Vitality Stadium as Salah netted a penalty in the first half and another goal in the second half.
Salah’s two goals means, the former Chelsea and AS Roma star has now surpassed Lampard as 6th all time goal scorer in Premier League history.
The 32-year-old now has 178 Premier League goals with a goal ahead of Lampard, who now sit in 7th position on the all-time Premier League goal scorers chat.
He is, however, behind the likes of Alan Shearer, Harry Kane, Wayne Rooney, Andrew Cole and Sergio Aguero in the goal chat.
Salah has scored 21 goals for the Reds so far this season.
He could leave Liverpool in the summer as he is yet to sign a new deal.
His contract with Arne Slot’s side will expire at the end of the season.
The Confederation of African Football, CAF, on Friday announced the full match schedule for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
Nine venues will be used across six cities for the continent’s flagship soccer event.
Hosts Morocco will will take on Comoros in the competition’s opening game at the newly-built 69,500-seater Complexe Sportif Prince Moulay Abdellah in Rabat on Sunday, December 21.
The country’s capital, Rabat, will have four match venues.
Other host cities are Casablanca, Agadir, Marrakech, Fes and Tangier, which will have one match each.
The four quarter-final fixtures will be played at the Sportif Prince Moulay Abdellah in Rabat, as well as in Tangier, Marrakech and Agadir.
The semi-finals will be in Rabat and Tangier, with the third-place play-off set for the Stade Mohammed V in Casablanca.
52 matches will be played during the biennial competition.
The Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire are the defending champions of the competition.
The draw for this season’s UEFA Champions League knockout phase play-off draw has been conducted on Friday.
Eight teams have progressed straight to the round of 16 following the completion of the league phase.
They are Liverpool, Barcelona, Arsenal, Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Lille and Aston Villa.
They will all return to the competition in March, but others have more football to play before then.
The teams that finished between 9th and 24th, have a two-legged play-off to navigate in February.
FULL KNOCKOUT PHASE PLAY-OFF DRAW
Brest vs Paris-Saint Germain
Feyenoord vs AC Milan
Juventus vs PSV
Monaco vs Benfica
Man City vs Real Madrid
Celtic vs Bayern Munich
Sporting vs Borussia Dortmund
Club Brugge vs Atalanta
Mikel Obi picks best Premier League player of all time, snubs Ronaldo, Drogba, Salah
Court fixes date to rule on NNPCL’s objection against Dangote Refinery suit
Why Tinubu jerked up proposed 2025 Budget from N49.7trn to N54.2trn – Bagudu
Know The Airlines, Departure And Arrival Terminals In Lagos Airports By Ayodeji Awokunmi
Know the Airlines, departure, and arrival terminals in Lagos Domestic Airports
Dissecting Caritas CEO’S ‘Public Relations Thoughts And Deeds’ By Stanley Olisa
-
News1 week ago2027: I’m not against coalition – Peter Obi
-
News1 week agoRemedy Yange, EFCC Operative, Dies Suddenly on Lagos Street
-
News7 days agoLAGOS BEGINS 3-DAY FREE HIV TESTING AND COUNSELLING SERVICES IN 19 RIVERINE COMMUNITIES
-
News1 week agoYou’re bloodthirsty tyrant – Reno Omokri links El-Rufai to killings in Kaduna
-
News1 week agoNAFDAC confiscates fake products worth over ₦5 bn, seals market in Aba
-
Politics3 days agoAregbesola should prostrate, beg Tinubu – Osun Rep
-
Sports6 days agoBREAKING: UEFA Champions League knockout phase play-off draw confirmed [Full list]
-
News1 week agoBuhari speaks on life after presidency, denies corrupt enrichment