Liverpool's best ever signings

Liverpool have signed a whole host of fine players throughout their long and successful history.

From bargain talent plucked out of the lower leagues, to record-breaking acquisitions, there's been some exceptional transfer business done by the Reds over the years.

Here, FourFourTwo gives you the rundown of the 34 best Liverpool signings of all time.

34. James Milner

A modern Premier League legend, utility players weren't exactly in vogue when James Milner joined Liverpool as a free agent in the summer 2015 – but goodness did he make himself a valuable member of the Reds squad.

Playing under Jurgen Klopp for almost the entirety of his eight-year stay at Anfield, the midfielder-cum-winger-cum-full-back won every honour on offer – including the Champions League in 2018/19 and the Premier League title the following season.

33. Steve McMahon

One of few players to star for both Liverpool and Everton, Steve McMahon joined the Reds from Aston Villa in September 1985 – having left Goodison Park two years earlier.

The England midfielder became a firm fan favourite at Anfield, spending six years with Liverpool – who he helped to three First Division titles and two FA Cups.

32. John Aldridge

John Alridge's Liverpool career was brief but prolific: in 104 appearances for the Reds across two-and-a-half years, the Republic of Ireland striker chalked up 63 goals.

Signed from Oxford United for £750,000 in January 1987, Aldo was born in Liverpool but had begun his career with Welsh outfit Newport County – but he returned home to become a legend at Anfield, winning the First Division title and FA Cup before joining Real Sociedad.

31. John Toshack

A serial champion, John Toshack won three First Division titles and four continental titles with Liverpool – including the European Cup in 1976/77, the Reds' first triumph in that competition.

Regarded as one Liverpool's greatest players of all time, the Welsh striker formed a famous attacking trio with Kevin Keegan and Steve Heighway in the early 70s, after joining Bill Shankly's Reds from Cardiff City.

30. Phil Neal

One of the most successful English footballers of all time, Phil Neal won 16 major trophies during his 11 years at Liverpool – including four European Cups and seven First Division titles.

Plucked from lower-league Northampton Town in October 1974, the full-back made his Reds debut in the Merseyside derby and went on to feature 650 times for the club.

29. Georginio Wijnaldum

The unsung hero of Liverpool's historic 2019/20 season – when they finally became Premier League champions for the first time – Georginio Wijnaldum was an absolutely vital midfield cog in Jurgen Klopp's gegenpressing machine.

Signed from Newcastle for £23m in 2016, the Dutch destroyer played in 179 league games out of a possible 190 in his five seasons with the Reds – who he also helped to 2018/19 Champions League glory.

28. Sami Hyypia

A key member of Gerard Houllier's Liverpool side which won the UEFA Cup, FA Cup and League Cup in 2000/01, boyhood Reds fan Sami Hyypia arrived from Dutch outfit Willem II in 1999.

The towering Finnish centre-back – who had a brief spell as captain at Anfield – went on to make 464 appearances for the club, chipping in with 35 goals (most of them headers from set-pieces) and helping them to 2004/05 Champions League glory.

27. Jan Molby

A member of Liverpool's last three title-winning sides of the pre-Premier League era, Danish icon Jan Molby played 281 games for the Reds during an 11-year spell at Anfield.

So popular was the midfielder on Merseyside that, in 2009, he was made an 'Honorary Scouser' by the Lord Mayor of Liverpool – a very classy touch indeed!

26. Jordan Henderson

His decision to leave Liverpool for Saudi Arabia in 2023 rather tainted his Anfield legacy – but as captain of the Reds' first Premier League title-winning team, Jordan Henderson deserves a spot on this list.

Signed from Sunderland in the summer of 2011, the England midfielder was a highly dependable servant under three Liverpool managers – and he got his hands on every single piece of silverware available during his time at the club.

25. Ronnie Whelan

Another darling of the Kop, iconic Irish midfielder Ronnie Whelan spent 15 years at Liverpool – arriving from Dublin-based club Home Farm for £35,000 in September 1979.

He went on to win six First Division titles, three FA Cups, three League Cups and a European Cup with the Reds – scoring the winner, one of numerous crucial goals he notched, against Manchester United in the 1983 League Cup final.

24. Bruce Grobbelaar

Famed for his 'spaghetti legs' routine in the penalty shootout which Liverpool won to clinch the 1983/84 European Cup, bonkers Bruce Grobbelaar goes down as one of the best goalkeepers the Reds have ever had.

A member of six First Division title-winning sides between 1982 and 1990, the Zimbabwean international featured 628 times for Liverpool – having been signed from the relative obscurity of NASL outfit Vancouver Whitecaps in 1981.

23. Fernando Torres

Fernando Torres was one of the most sought-after young striker in Europe when Rafael Benitez's Liverpool signed him from Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2007.

And El Nino didn't take long to live up to his prodigious reputation: the Spaniard scored 33 goals in 46 games in all competitions during his first campaign with the Reds, striking 81 times in total before joining Chelsea in 2011.

22. Ray Kennedy

Ray Kennedy had already picked up First Division and FA Cup winners medals with Arsenal when he joined Liverpool for £200,000 in July 1974 – and he went on to claim a plethora of further silverware with the Reds.

Signed as a centre-forward by Bill Shankly, Kennedy was later converted into a left-sided midfielder by Bob Paisley – and he continued to excel, ending his eight-year Anfield career with five First Division titles and three European Cups, among other honours.

21. Mark Lawrenson

Signed from Brighton in the summer of 1981 for £900,000 – a club-record transfer fee at the time – Mark Lawrenson was one of Liverpool's main men throughout the 80s.

The Republic of Ireland defender – who would later become a humorously cynical Match of the Day pundit – won First Division titles under Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan and Kenny Dalglish, playing every league game of the triumphant 1983/84 campaign – which also included European Cup success.

20. Ray Clemence

Undoubtedly one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, Ray Clemence belongs to a select group of players with more than 1,000 career appearances – and he made 665 of his for Liverpool.

Incredibly, Clemence kept clean sheets in 323 of those outings – and he ended his glittering 14-year spell with the Reds, who he joined from Scunthorpe United in 1967, with four First Division titles, three European Cups and two UEFA Cups to his name.

19. Terry McDermott

Moustachioed, permed Liverpool legend Terry McDermott arrived at Anfield in November 1974, returning to his hometown after spells with Bury and Newcastle to start his career.

And things couldn't have gone much better for the classy midfielder as a Red: among his numerous honours, he was an English champion five times and a European champion on three occasions – scoring 81 goals in 329 appearances, all under the great Bob Paisley.

18. Roberto Firmino

Roberto Firmino's pearly whites alone could have endeared him to the Anfield faithful – but Liverpool's beaming Brazilian pressing icon did far more than that to make himself an all-time fan favourite.

Signed by Brendan Rodgers from Hoffenheim for £29m in the summer of 2015, the striker became one of the world's finest exponents of the false nine role under Jurgen Klopp – and he went on to score 111 goals in eight years with the Reds, playing in every game of their 2019/20 Premier League title triumph.

17. Alan Kennedy

A two-time European Cup winner with Liverpool, Alan Kennedy scored the decisive penalty in the shootout to clin the 1984 final against Roma – one of his last major contributions in a Reds shirt.

But the full-back, a 1978 arrival from Newcastle, made plenty of them over the course of his eight-year career at Anfield – during which he won five First Division titles.

16. Sadio Mane

One of a number of players to make the switch from Southampton to Liverpool in the mid- to late 2010s, Sadio Mane arrived at Anfield for £34m in the summer of 2016.

And the Senegalese superstar left six years later having become one of the Reds' leading scorers of the Premier League era: Mane bagged 120 goals in all competitions, winning every major trophy on offer and sharing the 2018/19 Golden Boot.

15. Alisson

Alisson was one of Europe's most in-demand goalkeepers when he joined Liverpool from Roma for £66.8m in July 2018, making him the most expensive 'keeper of all time (until Chelsea broke the record to sign Kepa Arrizabalaga a matter of weeks later).

And it didn't take the Brazilian long to become arguably the best in the world, as he helped the Reds to Champions League glory then the Premier League title in each of his first two seasons at Anfield – before proving he could do it all by sensationally scoring a crucial 95th-minute winner against West Brom in 2021.

14. Alan Hansen

For many years, Alan Hansen berated 'diabolical' Premier League defending as a pundit on Match of the Day – and he should know: the no-nonsense Scotsman was one of the best centre-halves in Europe during his time at Liverpool.

Signed from Partick Thistle for £100,000 in 1977, Hansen won an incredible eight First Division titles in 14 years with the Reds – as well as three European Cups, five FA Cups and three League Cups.

13. Ian St John

Ian St John became an ever bigger TV legend that his Scottish compatriot Hansen, hosting Saint and Greavsie with Jimmy Greaves – but he was a huge Liverpool legend long before that.

A crucial member of the Bill Shankly team which rose from the Second Division in 1962 and won the First Division title just two years later, St John – a £37,500 acquisition from Motherwell in 1961 – scored 118 goals for the Reds, with 78 of those coming at Anfield.

12. Andy Robertson

In 2013, Andy Robertson was playing in the Scottish fourth tier for historic amateur outfit Queens Park; six years later, he played an integral role in Liverpool's Champions League triumph as one of the world's top left-backs.

Signed from Championship Hull City for just £8m in the summer of 2017, Robertson became one of Jurgen Klopp's most indispensable players in his role as a flying, pinpoint-crossing full-back – living up to his modest price tag and then some.

11. Emlyn Hughes

Skipper of Liverpool's first two European Cup-winning sides, Emlyn Hughes has to go down as one of the finest English players of all time.

Signed from Blackpool by Bill Shankly in 1967, the versatile midfielder-cum-defender – who also went on to captain his country – Hughes was a First Division champion on four occasions with the Reds, and he scooped the prestigious FWA Footballer of the Year award in 1977.

10. Ron Yeats

Another pivotal component of Bill Shankly's remarkable Reds rebuilding job, Scottish centre-half Ron Yeats joined Liverpool from Dundee United in 1961.

He went on to spend a glorious decade at Anfield, helping Liverpool win promotion back to the top flight as Second Division champions in his first season – before helping them to the First Division title in 1963/64 and 1965/66, and FA Cup glory in between.

9. Virgil van Dijk

Virgil van Dijk's £75m move from Southampton to Liverpool in January 2018 broke the world transfer record for a defender – and for the Reds, it would prove to be money exceptionally well spent.

PFA Player of the Year, and Liverpool Fans' and Players' Player of the Year in 2018/19 – his first full season at the club – Van Dijk established himself as arguably the world's best defender for a number of years, playing every league game for Jurgen Klopp's side in 2018/19 and 2019/20.

He was made club captain following the departure of Jordan Henderson in 2023.

8. Roger Hunt

One of Liverpool's all-time top goalscorers, Roger Hunt found the net 285 times in 492 appearances over the course of his 11-year career.

Signed from non-League outfit Stockton Heath (now Warrington Town) in 1958, the striker – a 1966 World Cup winner with England – won two First Division titles and an FA Cup under Bill Shankly and earned himself the moniker of Sir Roger among the Anfield faithful.

7. Luis Suarez

Luis Suarez's Liverpool stay was short – but utterly prolific: in three-and-a-half seasons with the Reds, the Uruguay legend rattled in 82 goals in all competitions, including some absolutely stunning efforts.

Premier League Golden Boot winner and Player of the Season in 2013/14 – when he netted 31 times in 33 league appearances – Suarez arrived from Ajax for £22.8m in January 2011 – and was sold to Barcelona for just under £65m in the summer of 2014, making the Reds an extremely tidy profit.

6. John Barnes

Ranked as Liverpool's best ever player by FourFourTwo in 2016, few Anfield arrivals have left as an indelible an impression on the Reds as left-footed wing wizard John Barnes.

One of the most naturally gifted players ever to pull on a Liverpool shirt, the England international joined the Reds in 1987 after leaving Watford – and he went on to score 106 goals in 403 appearances, winning two First Division titles and two FA Cups, and twice being named FWA Footballer of the Year.

5. Graeme Souness

Captain of Liverpool's immensely successful side of the early 80s, Graeme Souness won a total of three European Cups and five First Division titles in just six years with the Reds – who he would later manage.

The tough-tackling Scotland midfielder left Middlesborough to join Liverpool in 1978, making a total of 354 appearances under first Bob Paisley then Joe Fagan – before leaving for Serie A and Sampdoria

4. Kevin Keegan

Not just one of Liverpool's best ever players but one of the finest players of all time outright, Kevin Keegan lit up Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley's Reds teams throughout the 70s.

Signed as a 20-year-old from Scunthorpe United for £33,000 in 1971, Keegan's most memorable season in a Liverpool shirt was 1976/77 – when he helped them to the First Division title and their inaugural European Cup (although he also got his hands on two further league titles, two UEFA Cups and an FA Cup – not a bad return, really!).

3. Ian Rush

In two spells at Liverpool – either side of an unsuccessful stint with Juventus – Ian Rush amassed a 346 goals at an average of more than one every other game, etching his name into Reds history for eternity.

Signed from Chester City in 1980, the free-scoring Welshman collected two European Cup winners medals and was a First Division champion on five occasions – among numerous other honours – and, in addition to scooping that season's Golden Boot, was named PFA Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year for 1983/84.

2. Mo Salah

Liverpool's Egyptian King had previously flopped in the Premier League with Chelsea; he couldn't have set his stall out any more emphatically after joining the Reds from Roma in 2017, though, scoring a remarkable 44 goals in 52 appearances during his first campaign at the club.

And he just continued to bang in the goals, winning three Premier League Golden Boots by 2021/22 – by which time he'd also become an English and European champion with Jurgen Klopp's team.

1. Kenny Dalglish

No matter how many elite signings Liverpool make in the modern era, Kenny Dalglish seems unlikely to be dislodged as the club's greatest player of all time any time soon.

Brought in from Celtic for a then British-record £440,000 in August 1977, King Kenny enjoyed a glittering 13-year playing career with the Reds – for whom he notched 172 goals in 515 appearances.

A six-time First Division champion and three-time European Cup winner with Liverpool as a player, Dalglish would also manage the Reds to three First Division titles (the first of them as player-manager) and had Anfield's Centenary Stand renamed after him in 2017 – before being knighted the following year.