Rio Ferdinand shuts down talk of Mo Salah being the Premier League's best ever player - and insists there's 'NO CHANCE' he's ahead of two legends

Rio Ferdinand rubbished talk of Liverpool's in-form superstar Mohamed Salah being the Premier League's greatest ever player on Tuesday night.

Salah, 32, is enjoying a career best season at Anfield, pioneering Liverpool towards a second Premier League title with 25 goals and 16 assists from 27 matches already this campaign.

The Egyptian, who netted again on Sunday to help Liverpool go 11 points clear of Arsenal at the top of the table with a crucial 2-0 victory over Manchester City, is only three goal contributions behind Erling Haaland's record of 44 in a single season — and is chasing down a glut of similar records after an astonishing year in front of goal.

Salah's remarkable form has led several fans to debate over where he belongs in the all-time conversation, with plenty suggesting he is the greatest player ever to grace the Premier League.

Asked to weigh in on the debate ahead of Chelsea's clash with Southampton on Tuesday, Ferdinand urged there is 'no chance' Salah is ahead of two Premier League legends when it comes to the greatest ever.

'No chance,' the Man United legend told TNT Sport. 'He's not ahead of (Thierry) Henry and (Cristiano) Ronaldo.'

Rio Ferdinand has rubbished talk of Mo Salah being the Premier League's best ever player

Salah is enjoying a career best season at Anfield with 25 goals and 16 assists from 27 games

But Ferdinand insists there is 'no chance' Salah is ahead of Man United icon Cristiano Ronaldo

Arsenal icon Henry and Manchester United legend Ronaldo have both already been surpassed by Salah in terms of goals, who has 182 compared to their respective tallies of 175 and 103.

The historic forwards, however, each boast more Premier League titles than Salah, who currently has one compared to Henry's two and Ronaldo's three.

Peter Crouch, who joined Ferdinand on punditry duty and is also part of the Premier League's 100-goal club, suggested that Salah has the edge over Ronaldo in England, even though the Portuguese icon went on to become one of football's all-time greats at Real Madrid, Juventus and Al-Nassr.

'(I'd go) Ronaldo for what he went onto achieve, but Salah has Ronaldo in the Prem I would say,' Crouch added.

Ally McCoist threw another name into the mix, suggesting that the Premier League's all-time scorer Alan Shearer, who stands alone with 260 goals in the competition, deserves a shout.

He said: 'Shearer has to come into the equation, (but also) Henry. It comes to the stage, it is personal opinion.

'Salah gets me off my seat — but does he excite me like Henry? Shearer doesn’t excite you, but Shearer’s stats are ridiculous.'

Explaining his view on Salah, Ferdinand continued: 'Stats-wise and consistency-wise he is in the conversation, in the top three definitely, but in terms of someone who excites me, the maverick, that’s what elevates them for me to be the best.

Ferdinand also believes Thierry Henry is more worthy of the Premier League's GOAT label

Liverpool's title charge continues with a clash against Newcastle United on Wednesday night

Ally McCoist said that it's hard to look past Alan Shearer (above) as the greatest of all-time

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'It’s what you like watching. I want someone who will make me squeal. You wouldn’t want to play against Salah though, I’ll say that.'

Liverpool's title charge continues with a clash against top-four challengers Newcastle at Anfield on Wednesday before hosting bottom-placed Southampton on March 8.

Before facing Saints, Arne Slot's side will take on Paris Saint-Germain in a crucial Champions League last-16 tie three days earlier, with the first leg scheduled at the Parc des Princes.

Ahead of this campaign, Salah's best Premier League season was in 2017-18 under Jurgen Klopp, when he netted 32 goals in 38 games to break the record for the most scored in a single term — a feat which has since been surpassed by Manchester City's Haaland (36).