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.”