Riise Picks Ekitike Over Salah as Liverpool’s Player of the Season Despite Egyptian’s Record-Breaking Farewell

Norwegian full-back John Arne Riise, a former Liverpool defender, has selected French striker Hugo Ekitike as his Liverpool Player of the Season for the 2025/26 campaign — a verdict that places the 23-year-old ahead of Mohamed Salah, who ended his nine-year spell at the club with a record-breaking performance on the final day of the season.

Speaking to Get French Football News, Riise acknowledged he had limited knowledge of Ekitike before the forward joined the club, but credited the youngster with exceeding all expectations throughout the campaign. “Ekitike has maybe been player of the season for Liverpool this year,” Riise said. “He’s been amazing, especially compared to what people expected. And I’m so sad for him that he picked up the injury.”

Ekitike registered 15 goals and six assists across all competitions during the season — a contribution that largely went under the radar early in the campaign, with much of the initial attention directed toward fellow forward Alexander Isak. Riise suggested the French international had been building toward a potential World Cup starting berth before his injury intervened. The former Liverpool man noted that a fit Ekitike could have played a meaningful role for France at the 2026 World Cup, with Riise expressing sympathy over the timing of the setback.

While Riise’s focus centred on Ekitike, Mohamed Salah’s exit from Liverpool was anything but understated. The Egyptian forward made his 315th and final appearance for the club in a 1-1 draw against Bournemouth on the last day of the 2025/26 Premier League season, delivering his 93rd assist in the competition — a new record in English top-flight history. The milestone came in fitting circumstances, as Salah had long been regarded as one of the most productive attacking players in Premier League history.

Salah’s departure marks the conclusion of a nine-season tenure at Anfield that yielded widespread individual honours and multiple major trophies, including a Premier League title and a UEFA Champions League. His exit leaves a substantial gap in Liverpool’s attack heading into the 2026/27 season, and attention will now turn to whether players such as Ekitike — if he recovers fully from injury — can absorb some of that attacking responsibility.

Ekitike, who joined Liverpool on a permanent basis after impressing in the Bundesliga with Eintracht Frankfurt, has quickly established himself as a key figure in Arne Slot’s system. His ability to combine physicality with technical quality has drawn comparisons to a number of elite European forwards, and his debut season at Anfield has broadly been considered a success despite the injury that curtailed his campaign.

The 2025/26 season also represented the final chapter of a transformational era at Liverpool, with Salah’s farewell coinciding with a period of squad evolution under Slot. The club’s recruitment strategy in the coming transfer window is expected to reflect the scale of Salah’s departure, with Liverpool’s hierarchy reportedly exploring options to reinforce the forward line before the new season begins.