10 Best Liverpool Players of All Time: Anfield's Greatest Ranked

In May 1984, Graeme Souness stepped up in a Rome shootout, scored, and then lifted the European Cup in his final game as a Liverpool player. It is one of dozens of moments that make ranking the best Liverpool players of all time so difficult. Few clubs have produced this many genuine legends across this many eras.

Liverpool’s story runs from Roger Hunt’s goals in the Second Division to Mohamed Salah’s nine-year assault on the record books. Along the way the club has won six European Cups and a long run of league titles. It has also produced players who changed how English football is played.

This is our definitive ranking of Liverpool’s greatest players. It is built on trophies, individual honours, statistics and lasting influence at Anfield. Some calls will be controversial, but every one is backed by the numbers.

Criteria for Ranking the Best Ever Liverpool Players

Comparing a 1960s centre-forward with a 2020s centre-back needs a consistent framework. Our primary metric is major honours won with Liverpool: league titles, European Cups and Champions Leagues, and domestic cups. These are weighted by how central the player was to winning them.

Three secondary metrics shape the final order. Individual recognition covers PFA, FWA and Ballon d’Or placings. Statistical output covers appearances, goals and club records. Legacy covers captaincy, defining moments and how each player is remembered at Anfield.

We cross-referenced six leading all-time rankings with Liverpool FC’s official “Liverpool’s Greatest” countdown. We also drew on records from LFChistory.net and the club’s official player archive. Where our order departs from the club’s countdown, we explain why in the entry.

Criterion	Description	Weight
Major Honours	League titles, European Cups and domestic cups won as a key player	High
Individual Awards	PFA, FWA, Golden Boots and Ballon d’Or placings	Medium
Statistical Output	Appearances, goals and club records set or still held	Medium
Legacy & Influence	Captaincy, decisive moments and standing among supporters	Medium
Source Consensus	How often the player appears across six published all-time rankings	Low

Top 10 Liverpool Players of All Time: The Full List

Liverpool have been playing at Anfield since 1892, and narrowing more than 130 years of history down to ten names means leaving out players who would walk into almost any other club’s all-time XI. Five of them feature in our honourable mentions, and each could make a case for the top ten.

The countdown runs from 10 to 1. It opens with Kevin Keegan, a two-time Ballon d’Or winner, and ends with Kenny Dalglish, still known to Liverpool supporters simply as “King Kenny.”

1. Kevin Keegan — Forward, 1971–1977
2. Roger Hunt — Striker, 1959–1969
3. Alan Hansen — Centre-Back, 1977–1990
4. Virgil van Dijk — Centre-Back, 2018–present
5. Graeme Souness — Midfielder, 1978–1984
6. John Barnes — Winger, 1987–1997
7. Mohamed Salah — Forward, 2017–2026
8. Ian Rush — Striker, 1980–87, 1988–96
9. Steven Gerrard — Midfielder, 1998–2015
10. Kenny Dalglish — Forward, 1977–1990

#10 Kevin Keegan | Forward | 1971–1977

Keegan was the spark of Bill Shankly’s second great side. He scored 100 goals in 323 games and bridged Shankly’s era and Bob Paisley’s first European Cup. He finished 14th in the club’s official countdown. We rank him higher because he appears in five of our six reference rankings, a consensus the countdown does not reflect.

His two Ballon d’Ors came later at Hamburg, but the foundations were laid at Anfield. Keegan died on 20 July 2026, aged 75, after a battle with cancer.

• 100 goals in 323 Liverpool appearances
• Three league titles and the 1977 European Cup
• UEFA Cup winner in 1973 and 1976
• Scored twice in the 1974 FA Cup final win over Newcastle
• Ballon d’Or winner in 1978 and 1979 after joining Hamburg

#9 Roger Hunt | Striker | 1959–1969

Before Rush, there was Hunt. He scored 285 goals in 492 appearances and dragged Liverpool from the Second Division back to the top of English football. More than five decades on, nobody has scored more league goals for the club.

Hunt was also part of England’s 1966 World Cup-winning side. That makes him one of the few Liverpool players to reach the very top of both club and international football.

• Club record 244 league goals, still unbeaten
• Second Division title in 1961-62, then First Division titles in 1963-64 and 1965-66
• 1965 FA Cup winner, the club’s first
• 1966 World Cup winner with England

#8 Alan Hansen | Centre-Back | 1977–1990

Hansen scored only 14 goals in 620 appearances, and it did not matter. He was the composed, ball-playing centre-back in a side that won almost everything for 13 years. His ability to carry the ball out of defence was decades ahead of its time.

His durability stands out as much as his elegance. He played every one of the 67 games in the 1983-84 treble season.

• Eight league titles, three European Cups, two FA Cups and four League Cups
• 620 appearances over 13 years in the first team
• Played all 67 matches of the 1983-84 treble campaign

#7 Virgil van Dijk | Centre-Back | 2018–present

No single signing changed modern Liverpool as quickly as Van Dijk. In 380 appearances he has turned a leaky defence into the base of a side that has won every major trophy available to it. He came eighth in the club’s official countdown. We move him up one place, though seventh and eighth are close to a coin-flip.

His 2019 season set the standard. He won the Champions League and the PFA award, then finished second only to Lionel Messi in the Ballon d’Or.

• 380 appearances and 36 goals (as of September 2026)
• Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup, all in 2019
• Premier League titles in 2019-20 and 2024-25, the second as captain
• League Cup in 2022 and 2024, and the 2022 FA Cup
• 2019 PFA Players’ Player of the Year and Ballon d’Or runner-up
• Contract runs until June 2027

#6 Graeme Souness | Midfielder | 1978–1984

Souness gave one of Europe’s most technically gifted sides a hard edge. In 359 appearances he controlled midfield with a mix of passing range and physical dominance that few players have matched. Bob Paisley made him captain in early 1982, and he led the side to three league titles.

His exit was perfectly timed. He scored in the 1984 shootout against Roma and then lifted the European Cup as captain in his final game.

• Three European Cups, five league titles and four League Cups
• Captain for three title-winning campaigns from 1982
• Scored in the 1984 European Cup final shootout, then lifted the trophy
• Later won the 1992 FA Cup as Liverpool manager

#5 John Barnes | Winger | 1987–1997

Barnes arrived in 1987 and immediately became the most exciting player in England. In his first season he won the league and both the PFA and FWA awards, which is exceptional for any new signing. He scored 108 goals in 407 appearances, with a mix of dribbling, vision and finishing that defined Liverpool’s last great side of the old First Division.

Later in his Anfield career he moved into central midfield, which showed a football intelligence beyond pure flair.

• First Division titles in 1987-88 and 1989-90
• FA Cup in 1989 and 1992, and the League Cup in 1995
• PFA Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year in 1988
• Second FWA award after the 1989-90 title season

#4 Mohamed Salah | Forward | 2017–2026

Salah’s 44 goals in 2017-18 remain the club record for a debut season, and he kept going from there. He left in 2026 after nine years, 442 appearances and 257 goals, third on Liverpool’s all-time scoring list. He now plays for Trabzonspor.

His consistency sets him apart from nearly every modern forward. He won four Premier League Golden Boots and three PFA Player of the Year awards in the most competitive league in the world.

• 257 goals, behind only Ian Rush and Roger Hunt in club history
• Club records for Premier League goals (191) and assists (93)
• Two Premier League titles, the Champions League and the FIFA Club World Cup
• UEFA Super Cup, FA Cup, two League Cups and a Community Shield
• Four Golden Boots and three PFA Player of the Year awards

#3 Ian Rush | Striker | 1980–87, 1988–96

Rush is Liverpool’s greatest goalscorer, and the gap is large. His 346 goals in 660 appearances are a club record that looks unlikely to be broken in the modern game. In 1983-84 he scored 47 times, breaking the club record of 41 that Roger Hunt had set in 1961-62.

That season brought a clean sweep of individual awards. He won the PFA award, the FWA award and the European Golden Boot.

• Club record 346 goals in 660 appearances
• Two European Cups, five league titles, three FA Cups and five League Cups
• 47 goals in 1983-84, a single-season club record
• Record five goals in FA Cup finals

#2 Steven Gerrard | Midfielder | 1998–2015

Gerrard topped the club’s official countdown, and it is easy to see why. Across 710 appearances and 186 goals, he repeatedly rescued Liverpool when nothing else was working. Istanbul in 2005 is the defining example, but there were many others.

He heads any list of the best Liverpool midfielders of all time. He remains the only player to score in a Champions League, FA Cup, UEFA Cup and League Cup final.

• Champions League winner in 2005
• UEFA Cup in 2001, and the UEFA Super Cup in 2001 and 2005
• Two FA Cups (2001, 2006) and three League Cups (2001, 2003, 2012)
• PFA Player of the Year in 2006 and FWA Footballer of the Year in 2009
• Only player to score in all four of those major finals

#1 Kenny Dalglish | Forward | 1977–1990

Dalglish arrived in 1977 to replace Keegan, and he surpassed him. In 515 appearances he scored 172 goals and linked play in a way that improved everyone around him, above all Ian Rush. In his first season he scored the only goal of the 1978 European Cup final against Club Brugge at Wembley.

We rank him first, one place above his position in the club’s countdown. Four of our six reference rankings also put him first. His trophy record, individual honours and status at the club are unmatched, and an Anfield stand now carries his name.

• Six league titles, three European Cups, four League Cups and one FA Cup
• Winning goal in the 1978 European Cup final
• FWA Footballer of the Year in 1978-79 and 1982-83
• 1983 PFA Players’ Player of the Year and Ballon d’Or runner-up
• Anfield’s Centenary Stand renamed the Kenny Dalglish Stand in October 2017

Honourable Mentions: Liverpool Hall of Fame Contenders

The difference between tenth and eleventh on a list like this is often very small. These five players all have serious claims to a place in any Liverpool hall of fame.

Ian Callaghan (1960–1978): No one has played more for Liverpool than Callaghan, with 857 appearances and 68 goals. He was the club’s first FWA Footballer of the Year in 1974 and was booked only once in his whole career. He finished 10th in the official countdown and misses our list by a single place.

Luis Suárez (2011–2014): Suárez scored 82 goals in 133 games, including 31 Premier League goals in 2013-14. He appears in all six reference rankings, but his only major honour was the 2012 League Cup, and his spell lasted barely three and a half years.

Billy Liddell (1938–1961): Liddell scored 228 goals in 534 games and spent his entire career at Liverpool. He was so central to the club in the 1950s that it was nicknamed “Liddellpool.”

Jamie Carragher (1996–2013): Carragher made 737 appearances, and his 150 European matches are the most in club history. He won the Champions League and the UEFA Cup, but he is remembered above all for his loyalty and reliability.

Robbie Fowler (1993–2001, 2006–07): Fowler scored 183 goals, and only six players have scored more for the club. He was one of the most natural finishers English football has produced.

Rankings like this will always change as new eras reshape how the past is remembered.

Legacy and Future of Liverpool’s Greatest Players

This list shows how Liverpool’s idea of greatness has changed. The Dalglish, Hansen and Souness generation won through collective dominance, with trophies arriving almost every season. The modern era, led by Salah and Van Dijk, has produced individual brilliance on a global scale, measured in Golden Boots and Ballon d’Or placings as well as medals.

Longevity is becoming the rarest quality of all. Players like Callaghan and Gerrard, who stayed for nearly two decades, are increasingly unusual in an era of short contracts and constant transfers. That makes long service at one club count for more when judging the best Liverpool players ever.

The next generation has plenty of candidates. Florian Wirtz arrived with the talent to reshape Liverpool’s attack for years, and Ryan Gravenberch has grown into a central figure in midfield. Whether either can reach Salah’s level of output is the next question.

With Salah gone and Van Dijk’s contract ending in 2027, Liverpool are at a turning point. The club’s future greats will be judged against the ten names above.