Liverpool may not have been at the forefront of English football for the last 20 years but they have still had some remarkable successes and some of the best players in the world in that time.
TFF had an embarrassment of riches to pick from in terms of the best Liverpool players of all time and we will surely miss out on some big hitters to the eternal chagrin of Liverpool fans.
So all we can do is simply pull out five of the best and try to suggest the best Liverpool player of all time. When doing this you have to take so many different factors into account – things like longevity, impact, statistics, loyalty and so many other factors. But here goes. The best five Liverpool players that TFF think have ever played regularly at Anfield, with the very best coming last.
Luis Suarez
Isn’t it amazing how your club loyalties can define exactly how you feel about a footballer? For example there were few less popular players ever at Liverpool than Roy Keane. The Manchester United fans absolutely adored him and one of the reasons was probably because he was so hated by the Scousers. In the same way Luis Suarez has regularly been seen as a villain to most football fans but he is one of the biggest heroes Liverpool have ever had.
And even though he only stayed at the club for three years few players have ever had an impact quite as great as this man. He so nearly dragged Liverpool to the title and they were so close to winning it in 2015.
Suarez scored 83 goals in just 133 appearances for Liverpool and clearly had a true affinity with the club and its fans.
He may never again feel the love quite as he did from the Liverpool faithful in the time that he was at Anfield – Suarez was a truly amazing striker of superb technical ability, speed of thought, cheekiness and general audacity.
Kenny Dalglish
Kenny Dalglish was a brilliant footballer for Liverpool. He was a great catalyst for the club in their most successful period and also managed them to great successes after he hung up his boots. As such there are few players that will ever be held in higher esteem. He scored 169 in 502 games for Liverpool and he was a beautiful link between the midfield and the attack – a constant whirr of motion with excellent technical ability. Many would opine that King Kenny was indeed the best player ever to wear the Liverpool shirt.
Ian Rush
He didn’t really do much else but score goals. Rush wasn’t a big successful when he moved to Juventus in Italy and that league perhaps exposed flaws in his overall game. But his ability to find space and be at the right place at the right time was uncanny. He never scored that many belters but inside the 18 yard box he was a true maestro and few keepers would ever want to face him. Scored 346 goals for the club and will forever be etched into the hall of fame at Liverpool.
Kevin Keegan
Flew out of the stadium in his testimonial in a helicopter. That really tells you all you need to know about the glamour and hype attached to the player. He was a brilliant midfielder who never stopped running, scored goals, tracked back and always had a big influence on games. A brilliant forward.
Steven Gerard
In terms of emblematic players for Liverpool you can’t really look much further than Steven Gerrard. Dalglish really runs him close but we just can’t help but think back to the 2005 Champions League final when Gerard, at the height of his powers, almost single-handedly pulled his side from 3-0 down against the best defence in Europe back into the game and ultimately won the trophy.
He was truly incredible that night and every single sports page in Europe admitted as much. Gerard scored 186 goals in 710 appearances over more than a decade for Liverpool and will surely come back to manage the club one day. Even if he proves to be a terrible coach Liverpool fans would want him back just to be able to constantly aim their affections at him for one more season.
Liverpool’s greatest player of all time – Steven Gerrard