Liverpool are one of world football’s most successful-ever clubs, while also being a giant of the English game, having won 18 league titles and five European Cups along the way, and here we select our ten best players to have ever turned out for the Reds, with our final choices below appearing in no particular order.
10: Luis Suarez (Striker)
Mercurial, yet often controversial, front man signed from Eredivisie champions Ajax in Jan 2011 for a transfer fee of just £22.8 million.
However, ever since arriving at Anfield the Uruguay international has proved to be worth every penny of that big-money fee, and more, and already the brilliant 26-year-old has written his name into club folklore with a series of captivating displays and mesmerising goals for the Merseysiders.
9: Phil Neal (Right Back)
Eight top-flight titles, four League Cups, one Uefa Cup and four European Cups all to his name during a glittering and illustrious 11-year playing career at Anfield for the English right back who was a model of consistency during his time at the club, while also being a brilliant and ice-cool penalty taker too.
8: Kevin Keegan (Striker)
OK, the skilful front man may have only represented the club for six years before upping sticks and moving to Bundesliga outfit Hamburg in 1977, but what a six-year spell it was though from the shaggy-haired striker, culminating of course in his man-of-the-match display in Rome as the Reds got their hands finally on the European Cup for the very first time in their history.
7: Ian Rush (Striker)
The man bought to replace Keegan at Anfield did not do too bad a job of making the Liverpool faithful forget about the Englishman, with the Wales international going on to break all sorts of goalscoring records in the process by becoming the club’s greatest-ever goalscorer after finding the back of the net on a remarkable 346 occasions in total in just 660 matches in all competitions in his two different spells on Merseyside.
6: Kenny Dalglish (Striker)
Rightly considered by many of the club’s fans to unquestionably be their greatest-ever player after an outstanding 13-year playing career on Merseyside that saw the Scot light up Anfield with his vast array of skills, flicks, tricks, back heels and all kinds of delicate and delicious touches by the artful forward.
Oh, and there was also the small matter of 169 goals as well during his time on Merseyside as Dalglish won six league titles and three European Cups.
5: Alan Hansen (Defender)
Surely right up there with his compatriot as one of Liverpool’s all-time greats, with the silky-smooth Scottish defender first arriving at Anfield in 1977 from Partick Thistle, and going to to feature in a mammoth 620 matches in all competitions for the Merseysiders, many of which were as captain, while winning eight league titles, two FA Cups and three European Cups.
4: Bruce Grobbelaar (Goalkeeper)
Eccentric, but often brilliant Zimbabwe-born keeper for Liverpool during what was their greatest era in the mid Eighties to early Nineties, with the man with the moustache and the wobbly legs picking up six league titles, three FA Cups and a European Cup too during his eventful 13-year stay on Merseyside.
3: Steven Gerrard (Midfield)
Captain Fantastic and a constant driving force from central midfield ever since the Englishman made his debut for the Reds under manager Gerard Houllier back in November 1998 as a substitute against Blackburn Rovers.
And what really makes the midfield player such an icon at Anfield is that unlike the vast majority of the other Reds legends on this list, Gerrard has been shinning for the club during their decline, with the skipper’s man-of-the-match display to help Liverpool win their fifth European Cup against AC Milan in 2005 perhaps the greatest-ever single display by a player from the club in its entire history.
2: Jamie Carragher (Defender)
Similar to compatriot Gerrard, Carragher has also been leading by example at Anfield for a number of years, with the Liverpool-born defender a model of consistency ever since making his Reds debut in 1996 until eventually deciding to call it a day at the end of the 2012-13 campaign, having made just the 737 appearances for the club in that time.
And what is more, the centre back cum full back could always be relied upon to give his absolute all in every single one of those contests, and more.
1: John Barnes (Winger)
Perhaps the most exciting and eye catching of all the players to have graced Anfield in recent years, with the England winger at times during his heyday virtually unstoppable, especially during one glorious campaign in 1987-88 when the wide man was crowned Footballer of the Year as the Reds won the title with perhaps the most stimulating brand of football ever seen on Merseyside, with Barnes to the fore throughout.