1892 to the modern era

Notable players

Twenty players who illuminate different eras, roles and turning points in Liverpool's history. This is a curated historical guide, not a ranking.

1890

1900

1910

1920

1930

1940

1950

1960

1970

1980

1990

2000

2010

2020

2030

GoalkeeperElisha Scott1912–1934Pre-war eraForwardBilly Liddell1938–1961Post-war eraForwardRoger Hunt1958–1969Shankly eraMidfielderIan Callaghan1960–1978Shankly and Paisley erasDefenderTommy Smith1962–1978Shankly and Paisley erasDefender / midfielderEmlyn Hughes1967–1979European breakthroughForwardKevin Keegan1971–1977European breakthroughForwardKenny Dalglish1977–1990European championsMidfielderGraeme Souness1978–1984European championsDefenderAlan Hansen1977–1991European championsForwardIan Rush1980–1987, 1988–19961980s and 1990sMidfielderJohn Barnes1987–1997Late 1980sForwardRobbie Fowler1993–2001, 2006–2007Premier League eraForwardMichael Owen1997–2004Treble eraDefenderJamie Carragher1997–2013Treble and Istanbul erasMidfielderSteven Gerrard1998–2015Istanbul eraForwardFernando Torres2007–2011Late 2000sForwardMohamed Salah2017–Klopp and Slot erasDefenderVirgil van Dijk2018–Klopp and Slot erasGoalkeeperAlisson Becker2018–Klopp and Slot eras

Elisha Scott

Goalkeeper

Pre-war era 1938–1961

Billy Liddell

Forward

Post-war era 1958–1969

Roger Hunt

Forward

Shankly era 1960–1978

Ian Callaghan

Midfielder

Shankly and Paisley eras 1962–1978

Tommy Smith

Defender

Shankly and Paisley eras 1967–1979

Emlyn Hughes

Defender / midfielder

European breakthrough 1971–1977

Kevin Keegan

Forward

European breakthrough 1977–1990

Kenny Dalglish

Forward

European champions 1978–1984

Graeme Souness

Midfielder

European champions 1977–1991

Alan Hansen

Defender

European champions 1980–1987, 1988–1996

Ian Rush

Forward

1980s and 1990s 1987–1997

John Barnes

Midfielder

Late 1980s 1993–2001, 2006–2007

Robbie Fowler

Forward

Premier League era 1997–2004

Michael Owen

Forward

Treble era 1997–2013

Jamie Carragher

Defender

Treble and Istanbul eras 1998–2015

Steven Gerrard

Midfielder

Istanbul era 2007–2011

Fernando Torres

Forward

Late 2000s 2017–

Mohamed Salah

Forward

Klopp and Slot eras 2018–

Virgil van Dijk

Defender

Klopp and Slot eras 2018–

Alisson Becker

Goalkeeper

Klopp and Slot eras

Selection method

Players were selected to provide chronological and positional coverage while connecting the manager, season and honours archives. Inclusion does not claim a definitive all-time ranking.

Career spans and positions are cross-checked against the Liverpool FC past-player archive.