'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The Premier League has played host to some of the greatest footballers in the modern game, and spectators have been enthralled by some jaw-dropping individual performances over the years.
Be it Alan Shearer for Blackburn Rovers in 1994-95 or Didier Drogba and Yaya Toure more recently in 2009-10 and 13-14 respectively, football fans have witnessed some stupendous solo performances in the Premier League era.
While football is a team game, an individual’s stellar contributions over the course of the season can inspire the team to a memorable campaign. Today, we rank the five greatest individual seasons in a single Premier League campaign.
#5 Robin van Persie | Manchester United, 2012-13
The flying Dutchman was Manchester United’s statement signing in the summer of 2012, when they snatched the prolific goalscorer away from arch-rivals, Arsenal.
Robin van Persie became an instant crowd favorite at Old Trafford and played an indispensable role in Manchester United’s 2012-13 Premier League glory. The now-37-year-old was involved in 45 goals (30 goals, 15 assists) from 48 appearances for the Red Devils in his inaugural season.
This included a league-high 26 goals and 15 assists in the Premier League season - a contribution that won Sir Alex Ferguson his 20th Premier League title, almost single-handedly, in his final season at the club.
Robin van Persie would go on to win a second consecutive Golden Boot for his exploits in the 2012-13 season and etched himself into Manchester United folklore.
#4 Mohamed Salah | Liverpool, 2017-18
The Champions League winner showcased arguably the greatest individual season in Premier League football over the past five years.
Much like Van Persie, Mohamed Salah needed no time to settle down as he set the proverbial stage on fire during his debut 2017-18 season at Anfield. After a hugely forgettable spell with Chelsea, the Egyptian announced his return to Premier League football in grand fashion. Salah’s 32 goals in the 2017-18 Premier League season, which included just one goal from the spot, was the most by any player in a 38-game PL season.
The Egyptian was just two goals shy of Andrew Cole and Alan Shearer’s tally of 34 goals, who achieved the feat in a 42-match Premier League season. Salah won the PFA Player of the Year accolade for his goalscoring exploits that season and marked the beginning of a lethal attacking trio alongside Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino.
In 52 appearances across all competitions in the 2017-18 season, Salah racked up a whopping tally of 44 goals and 14 assists. The 29-year old become Liverpool’s second-highest goalscorer in a single season - just three behind Ian Rush’s 47-goal season in 1983-84.
#3 Cristiano Ronaldo | Manchester United, 2007-08
Cristiano Ronaldo truly established himself as one of the greatest footballers of his generation by the end of a phenomenal 2007-08 Premier League season.
Prior to the aforementioned season, the Portuguese superstar was regarded as a bright prospect in world football. However, Cristiano Ronaldo established himself as an outright world-class player in the 2007-08 campaign with an involvement in 50 goals (42 goals, 8 assists) from just 49 appearances. With 31 Premier League goals to his name that season, Ronaldo averaged a goal every 88.6 minutes.
At 22, the Portuguese formed one of Premier League’s most lethal attacking trio alongside Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez to propel the Red Devils to a Premier League and Champions League double in the 2007-08 season. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner became the second-youngest player to score over 30 Premier League goals in a single season.
Cristiano Ronaldo went on to win his first Ballon d’Or accolade at the end of the year and would embark on his journey to become one of the greatest footballers to have ever lived.
#2 Thierry Henry | Arsenal, 2002-03
The Gunners’ legend was at the peak of his powers in the 2002-03 Premier League campaign and backed it up with another stellar showing the following season in Arsenal’s 2003-04 “Invincibles” side.
Thierry Henry tallied 30 goals and 6 assists in Arsenal’s historic 2003-04 Premier League season, but his best season in English football came about in the preceding year. In 37 Premier League appearances in the 2002-03 season, Henry was involved in a record-breaking tally of 44 goals (24 goals, 20 assists).
The Frenchman set the record for most assists in a Premier League season at the end of the campaign - a record that has only been equaled by Kevin de Bruyne in the 2019/20 season. The Gunners’ iconic No. 14 also holds the record for most goal contributions in a 38-match Premier League season.
Thierry Henry was an unstoppable force in the early noughties and would win the Premier League Golden boot four times in five seasons between 2001-02 and 2005-06.
#1 Luis Suarez | Liverpool, 2013-14
Even after missing the first five games of the 2013-14 season due to suspension, Luis Suarez almost single-handedly ended Liverpool’s then-24-year long wait for a league title.
After serving a ten-game ban for biting Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic in the previous season, “El Pistolero” came out firing in the 2013-14 Premier League campaign. In 33 league appearances that season, Suarez registered an outstanding output of 31 goals and 12 assists.
The Uruguayan recorded the second-most goal contributions in a 38-match Premier League season (43 goals) and played a critical role in Liverpool’s unexpected title challenge in 2013-14. Suarez contributed a goal every 69 minutes in the Premier League campaign, but the season ended in heartbreak as Liverpool finished just two points behind league leaders, Manchester City.
The recently-crowned La Liga champion went on to win his first and only Premier League Golden Boot for the 2013-14 season. In just three and a half years in English football, Luis Suarez treated spectators to arguably the most incredible individual performance in a Premier League season.
