As Liverpool fans, we have been blessed to watch some of the most gifted players to ever kick a football, but who is the most skilful Red of all time?
Even in times of hardship, Anfield has continually witnessed sprinklings of greatness ever since the Reds moved into their rightful home in 1892.
Favourites have included the likes of Steven Gerrard and Ian Rush, but who have been the very best from a purely technical perspective?
Here, we take a look at some of the most skilful players to ever wear the shirt.
Steve Heighway
One of the club’s greatest-ever wingers, Steve Heighway quickly made a name for himself at Anfield with his swashbuckling style and attacking prowess.
Heighway features prominently in one of Anfield’s greatest terrace tunes, Fields of Anfield Road, and went on to work as a coach for the academy that produced Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher and Michael Owen among others.
His name will forever be etched in Liverpool folklore for a number of different reasons, but his exceptional control and precision were among the facets that brought him to the table in the first place.
Sadio Mane
Perhaps the very best winger in the traditional sense Liverpool have had in the modern era.
Sadio Mane was an electric part of the side that won every trophy on offer under Jurgen Klopp, also picking up the club’s Player of the Season award in his debut year and never looking back.
His first touch, pace and intricate footwork made him borderline unplayable for Premier League full-backs, particularly during the historic 2018/19 season in which he was a joint-winner of the Premier League Golden Boot.
Mane’s opening goal away at Bayern Munich during that same campaign stands out as one of the easiest on the eye you’re ever likely to see, as he turned one of the best goalkeepers on the planet inside out in the process.
Steve McManaman
His Liverpool career ended in somewhat acrimonious circumstances with a Bosman move to Real Madrid, but Steve McManaman is undoubtedly one of the most exciting players the city has ever produced.
Macca was an archetypal winger with an eye for goal, netting 66 times for the Reds in all competitions including a brace during a man-of-the-match performance in the 1995 League Cup final against Bolton at Wembley.
The fact he went to Real Madrid and became an important player in a team of Galacticos is testament to his ability – an underrated player in the club’s history.
Peter Thompson
Peter Thompson was destined to become a top player from the moment he signed his first professional contract with Preston North End.
He was brought to Anfield by the great Bill Shankly – a former Preston player himself – and immediately caught the eye with his trickery and pinpoint crossing ability.
Thompson was one of the most polished wide men to ever pull on a Liverpool shirt, but a series of knee injuries later down the line ultimately curtailed an otherwise stellar Anfield career.
Roberto Firmino
Roberto Firmino left the club in the summer of 2023 as a genuine Anfield great, the type this generation will be able to bore their grandkids about.
The Brazilian won the lot and he looked effortlessly cool while doing it. He was the facilitator for two of our best-ever goalscoring wide men but grabbed himself some hugely significant goals of his own, the Club World Cup winning goal in Qatar instantly springing to mind.
Firmino might not have been as prolific as his counterparts in that world-famous front three, but he will arguably go down as the most popular member of that all-conquering side and that speaks volumes for his selflessness and flamboyance in the false-nine role he made his own.
John Barnes
What we wouldn’t give to have John Barnes in this Liverpool team today.
Digger spent 10 seasons on Merseyside, predominantly as a left winger before moving central in his later years, and possessed the deadly combination of a magnificent football brain and lightening quick feet.
The way in which he could manipulate the ball was a sight to behold, and he goes down as one of Liverpool’s greatest-ever players.
Thiago
What a footballer! He is possibly the best we’ve bought in the Premier League era in terms of the level he was already before arriving.
We might never see a midfielder as aesthetically pleasing to watch again, but we’ll always have that performance against Man United to look back on and gush over.
Sadly, you can’t dissect Thiago‘s Liverpool career without the caveat of the injuries that may well have held him back from a place in the club’s all-time XI.
Kenny Dalglish
If you’ve got a stand named after you there’s a fair chance you used to be pretty good!
The King has transcended his playing qualities with the managerial and ambassadorial roles he has undertaken since, but he came from the club’s most decorated period and was probably the very best of that bunch.
Liverpool have had plenty of players capable of unpicking defences with incisiveness in the final third and plenty more who can finish, but they might never have had someone equally as good at doing both.
Possessing an incredible ability to use his backside as a shield, Dalglish may have been small, but will go down as a giant of the game.
Luis Suarez
A privilege to watch, it’s as simple as that. Want some nutmeg? He has plenty to spare.
Luis Suarez is the only player I can think of who was so good he would make you laugh on a regular basis, the definition of a defender’s nightmare who played with the same level of exultation as a kid on the street.
If you’d only watched him for one game you could be forgiven for thinking the Uruguayan was a tad lucky, but it quickly became apparent that his one-twos with centre-backs and bulldozing style were all part of the dance and what made him such a unique talent.
He is one of the few high-profile players to have left Anfield and taken his career up a notch further.
For all the incredible stars of the Klopp era, he might still be the most natural talent we’ve seen in the 21st century, which would be saying something.
Billy Liddell
You’d be hard pushed to find a player of Liverpool’s past with more legendary status than Billy Liddell, who is one of just four men to currently sit above Mohamed Salah on the club’s all-time list of goalscorers.
The Scot was so good he earned the team the affectionate nickname ‘Liddellpool’, his pace, power and composure serving to create a seemingly complete footballer.
He spent the entirety of his senior playing career at Anfield, racking up 534 appearances in all competitions before retiring in the infancy of the Shankly era.
A true Liverpool icon, in every sense of the word.
