Now it’s Liverpool’s turn. Over the past 24 years, the club has had several epoch-making teams, each with its own leaders and simply outstanding players. It was not easy to select the top 10, and many players who are still iconic for the Reds were left off the list.
Just like comparing legends across eras or browsing the best casino reviews, everyone has their favourites — and the debate never really ends. So be sure to write in the comments who else you would add to this ranking.
10. Fernando Torres (2007–2011)
Torres occupies a special place among the Spaniards brought to Liverpool by Rafael Benitez. He is my personal favourite forward – memories of my youth are intertwined with how important Fernando was to that Liverpool team.
In his debut year with the Reds, Torres scored 33 goals in all competitions, 24 of them in the Premier League alone – elite statistics. And his partnership with Gerrard, when Steven was made an attacking midfielder, was the driving force behind Liverpool’s almost successful attempt to challenge Ferguson’s Manchester United.
The European title and the winning goal in the final only added to the confidence of the Spaniard, who had three great seasons at Liverpool – but the fourth did not go so well. Injuries slowly sapped Fernando’s speed, and his desire to constantly fight for trophies was not a realistic goal for the club at the time. It all came to a head when both Liverpool and the Spaniard breathed a sigh of relief after Chelsea’s £50 million offer.
9. Sadio Mané (2016 – 2022)
When Salah was on a dry spell and Roberto Firmino was traditionally less effective in the opponent’s penalty area, it was Mané who became the true leader of the team, the one the others looked up to. This was the peculiarity of this trio – each of them could take responsibility and lead the way.
The 2021/22 season could, with some reservations, be called his swan song in terms of his influence on the Reds’ play. He was the only one taken out of that line-up, and after that, Liverpool went from a team that was one step away from the treble to a team that failed to qualify for the Champions League – which led to a reboot of the entire club and Klopp’s departure once the rebuilding was complete.
In 269 matches, Sadio scored 120 goals – the pace of the club’s best strikers in history, but with one important caveat. He did it from the position of a winger. And this should always be remembered, as should what a great person Sadio was for the club, the fans and his own country.
8. Jamie Carragher (1996–2013)
If we disregard Liverpool’s Premier League victory in 2020, the club’s last title in England’s top flight was the championship in 1990 – at that time, Scouser Jamie Carragher was a very unhappy 12-year-old fan… Everton.Everton
Sometimes fate has a unique sense of humour, considering that in his youth, Carra played for England’s youth team as a pure striker and even scored against Buffon. And now, all of this has turned into Carragher becoming a prominent defender for Liverpool.
737 matches for the Reds and all the trophies except that very same Premier League title. Opposing fans often laughed and still laugh at Carragher and his footballing talent. Even Jamie himself admits that he had less natural ability than, say, Rio Ferdinand or John Terry.
It all comes down to how much heart he put into playing for the club that became the only home he knew in his adult career.
7. Alisson (2018 – …)
Jürgen Klopp promised fans at one of his first press conferences at Liverpool: ‘The main thing is to believe in yourself. In four years, we will bring the city and the fans a title.’
Many consider this quote prophetic. Although Liverpool fell just short of the Premier League title in 2019, the team won the Champions League, returning to the final a year after their fiasco in Kyiv. In Madrid, Tottenham did not have many chances, and if any shots did fly towards the goal, they were instantly stopped by Alisson, who exuded absolute confidence. It was a huge contrast to what happened to Loris Karius in 2018.
Alisson is one of those who made Klopp’s dream come true. In that same Champions League, there would have been no chance of winning the trophy if it hadn’t been for the Brazilian’s save in the final group match against Napoli in the last seconds.
6. Xabi Alonso (2004–2009)
“I wasn’t a penalty taker that season, but before the final, Rafa pointed at me at the team meeting and said: “You’re taking the penalty in the game.” Xabi Alonso was shocked because it was the same game against Milan in Istanbul.
And when the wheel of fortune started spinning for that comeback, Alonso stepped up to take the penalty with the score at 2–3. The pressure on the player must have been incredible, but everything was in Liverpool’s favour at that point. Dida saved the shot, but it rebounded straight to Alonso, who scored with relief.
This is just one of many stories about Alonso at Liverpool, and all these facts and legends create in our eyes a universal midfielder, a mediator in the centre of the pitch, without whom it is difficult to imagine the Reds in the second half of the 2000s. And the fact that Alonso played even better after Liverpool only emphasises his enormous talent.
5. Luis Suárez (2011–2014)
The Uruguayan’s entire career has been fraught with contradictions, but these symptoms were most evident at Liverpool. In his first six months with the team, Luis was very similar to today’s Darwin Núñez in terms of finishing, but he quickly began to progress.
Beautiful goals, a racist scandal with Evra, more beautiful and important goals, he bit Branislav Ivanovic, and then reached cosmic heights when he almost single-handedly carried Liverpool to the title.
He didn’t quite make it, but the Reds fans are still impressed – the 2013/14 season was the most outstanding performance by a single player in the long history of the Premier League.
And immediately after that performance, Suarez bit another player at the World Cup – that’s just Luis. Keeping a player like that at Liverpool was a task with two asterisks. And the club failed to do so, as it did in finding a replacement for Luis – the short era of the three Bs was terrible (Borriello, Benteke, Balotelli). Ugh, it makes me shudder.
4. Michael Owen (1996–2004)
‘Do you consider yourself a Liverpool legend?’
Nervous laughter. Pause.
‘In my eyes… Yes.’
Michael Owen’s story will obviously always be painful for Liverpool fans. No one blamed him when he left for Real Madrid in 2004 (because it was the challenge of a lifetime). The move to Newcastle was not fatal either, but when Owen ended up at Manchester United, the lid was blown off. And no one listened to the fact that Liverpool itself was not interested in bringing the player back at the time, because the fans simply could not understand at all levels how a player they loved so much could play for their arch-rivals and win the championship with them.
And there was plenty to love him for. Even if we only look at the 21st century, in 2001 Owen was such a brilliant striker that he won the Ballon d’Or, the last Englishman to win the award.
3. Virgil van Dijk (2018 – …)
When Southampton flatly refused to sell Van Dijk to Liverpool in the summer of 2017, it seemed that Jürgen Klopp was taking too much of a risk by not going to the transfer market for another centre-back. Klopp needed Van Dijk, he was ready to endure another six months of chaos in defence because he saw the Dutchman as the saviour of the Reds.
And he became just that. Liverpool’s defence before Van Dijk and after Van Dijk are two completely different entities. At all levels, because Virgil became a key figure in the dressing room as a true leader, and the team gained a defender with no weak points on the pitch.
For years, Van Dijk was unbeatable one-on-one, and before his fatal injury in the autumn of 2020, he was being talked about as one of the best centre-backs in Premier League history.
2. Mohamed Salah (2017 – …)
Just in November, Tribuna published an article entitled ‘Mo Salah deserves to be considered one of the top three players in Liverpool’s history.’
And with every game, every goal and every assist, Salah only confirms his maximum impact on Liverpool’s play. Even if it doesn’t end with the Premier League title and late stages in the Champions League, Salah’s season can still be called his best in a Liverpool shirt in terms of individual performance.
Salah has changed his style of play; he no longer relies so much on his speed, but at the same time has become very influential in his passing and continues to score many goals. Salah is only the fifth player in Premier League history to score 15+ goals and make 15+ assists in a season – and it’s not even February yet!
And all this against the backdrop of an unresolved contract situation that Liverpool has got itself into and which is driving fans crazy, who would be willing to give everything for a new contract for Salah.
1. Steven Gerrard (1998–2015)
But no matter how important Salah’s goals and assists are, he clearly needs to stay at Liverpool for a few more seasons at a consistent level to challenge for the title.
Because Steven Gerrard is from Liverpool. His shots, his passes, his tackles, his dedication to the club and his kisses to the camera after goals against Manchester United. It’s hard to think of a captain who gave more to his club than Steven gave to Liverpool.
Just compare the two line-ups – Liverpool and Milan in 2005. With all my love for the Reds, it’s not even a serious comparison, which makes that comeback even more significant. And it’s all thanks to the fact that Liverpool had a player like Steven Gerrard. Giving momentum, leading the team in difficult times – Stevie embodied many of the words in You’ll Never Walk Alone, and he did it season after season.
The lack of an EPL title and that collapse in the match against Chelsea are a stain on Gerrard’s career, but they should never overshadow what a great footballer Steven was.
