10 Greatest Liverpool signings in Football History [Ranked]

Liverpool have had many sensational players over the years. With a long and proud history of bringing great players through their ranks, the Reds have also been prudent when it comes to signing good players, many of whom have made a huge contribution to the club over a prolonged period of time.

It is impossible to overlook the significance of Kenny Dalglish as a signing, player and manager of Liverpool. He excelled, so it will come as no surprise to see him ranked on the list of the club’s greatest ever signing. There are, of course, many others to consider and some might be surprised to see the likes of John Barnes missing from the list, but unfortunately for him, he was at the club when they weren’t able to compete in the European Cup. Competition is fierce when it comes to Liverpool’s greatest ever signings, with GIVEMESPORT ranking the top 10.

Ranking is based on

1. Ability
2. Contributions
3. Longevity
4. Value for money

10 Virgil van Dijk

Liverpool career span: 2018-Present

When the big Dutch centre back joined Liverpool in January 2018 for a reported £75million, they hadn’t won the title since 1990, a year before Virgil van Dijk was born. Strong and powerful, yet composed on the ball, van Dijk was a vital part of Jurgen Klopp’s side that challenged Manchester City and then won the Champions League, and then, after a 30-year wait, also won the Premier League title in 2020.

Related

Why Virgil van Dijk Doesn’t Have His Surname on the Back of His Shirt

There’s a very sad reason why Virgil van Dijk doesn’t have his surname on the back of his shirts.

9 Sadio Mane

Liverpool career span: 2016-2022

Sadio Mane helped Southampton to sixth place, three points ahead of Liverpool in 2016, yet nobody could have anticipated how well he would play at Anfield after transferring for £34m in 2016. His pace and direct play made him a perfect foil for Mo Salah, as well as an ideal player to play in Jurgen Klopp‘s aggressive pressing style. Like van Dijk, Senegalese international Mane was an integral part of a Liverpool side that once again became known as a regular title contender. Like Salah, he was prolific, although he perhaps could have had even more had Salah chosen to play Mane in more often.

8 Ray Clemence

Liverpool career span: 1967-1981

The late Ray Clemence was signed by Liverpool’s Bill Shankly from Scunthorpe in 1967 when the goalkeeper was still a teenager. The fee was reported to be less than £20k. Clemence’s career saw Liverpool go from title contenders to European Champions. A man for big moments, Clemence saved Jupp Heynckes’s penalty in the first leg of the UEFA Cup final against Borussia Monchengladbach in 1973, a final in which the Reds won. Clemence would win the competition again with Liverpool in 1976, before being an integral part of the team that won back to back European Cups in 1977 and 1978.

7 Bruce Grobbelaar

Liverpool career span: 1981-1994

In the 1970s and ’80s, Liverpool had a distinct knack of replacing managers and players. This was a case in point when Liverpool bought Bruce Grobbelaar in 1981 from Vancouver Whitecaps. The Zimbabwe international was one of the most idiosyncratic players the United Kingdom has ever seen. This was perhaps best highlighted in Rome during the penalty shoot with Roma in the 1984 European Cup Final, when Grobbelaar performed his wobbly legs routine that seemed to put the opposition off and end with Liverpool winning another European title. Behind the madcap antics was an athletic goalkeeper who was synonymous with Liverpool’s rampant success of the 1980s.

Related

Ranking Liverpool’s goalkeepers in the Premier League era from worst to best

Liverpool have had some pretty dodgy goalkeepers down the years…

6 Mo Salah

Liverpool career span: 2017-Present

The Egyptian striker, and the best player his country has ever produced, was having a perfectly decent career in Italy with Roma, after failing to make an impression at Chelsea. Mohamed Salah then joined Liverpool and the rest is history. Signing for an initial fee of £36m, a club record, Salah soon began to pay the club back in a multitude of goals, being top scorer in the Premier League four times. A firm fan favourite at Anfield, Salah has tormented rivals Manchester United over the years, having scored 14 goals against them at the time of writing.

2:57

Related

9 Times Mohamed Salah Proved He’s a Great Human Being

Salah is not just one of the greatest players in world football – he’s also an incredible human being

5 Graeme Souness

Liverpool career: 1978-1984

Midfield general Graeme Souness joined Liverpool for £350k from Middlesbrough in 1978. He quickly made a name for himself, scoring a cracking volley against Manchester United. Imperious in the tackle and able to get from box to box, Souness reveled in driving Liverpool on to winning title after title, winning five league titles in his seven seasons at Anfield. More than capable of playing in a defensive or attacking midfield role, scoring a hat trick in the 1981 European Cup quarter-final against CSKA Sofia, the season in which Souness would win one of his three European Cups for Liverpool.

4 Alan Hansen

Liverpool career: 1977-1991

Alan Hansen was a player who made the game look easy. An excellent reader of the game, Hansen’s poise and ability to pass out from the back made him ahead of his time and entirely suited to today’s modern game. Liverpool paid Partick Thistle in the region of £100k for the Scot, who quickly became part of the furniture at Anfield.

3 Kevin Keegan

Liverpool career: 1971-1977

Kevin Keegan was a crucial figure for Liverpool, helping them make the leap from English to European champions. Bill Shankly brought him to Liverpool aged 20 from Scunthorpe for around £30k, Keegan was a workaholic, who took pride in his efforts at training. Driven and determined, as well as industrious and athletic, Keegan was a willing runner and in many ways the embodiment of what Bill Shankly wanted in a footballer. He was brought down in the closing minutes of the 1977 European Cup Final, which enabled Phil Neal to score from the spot and claim the club’s first European Cup.

Related

10 Greatest Liverpool Midfielders in Football History [Ranked]

In Liverpool’s storied history, they’ve never been shy of a great midfielder among their ranks.

2 Ian Rush

Liverpool career: 1980-1987 and 1988-1996

Ian Rush remains Liverpool’s all-time top goalscorer. The club paid Third Division Chester £300k for his services in 1980. Although a peripheral figure in his first season at Anfield, in the 1981/82 season he hit 30 goals in 49 games, making himself a regular name on the team sheet. From late November 1981, he played 90 minutes in 24 of Liverpool’s next 25 games. In the 1983/84 season Rush scored 47 goals in 65 games, his highest total for the club. He also had a huge affinity with the FA Cup, scoring five goals in three final wins, two of those finals coming in 1989 and 1992, after his return to Anfield after a season spent with Juventus that didn’t suit his game. With 77 more goals than Roger Hunt, who is second on the all-time top scorer list, Rush’s contribution and longevity are unquestionable.

Related

10 Greatest Liverpool Defenders in Football History [Ranked]

Liverpool have been blessed with many fine defenders over the years.

1 Kenny Dalglish

Liverpool career: 1977-1991

Kenny Dalglish is universally recognised as Liverpool’s greatest player. By the same token, he should also be valued as the club’s best ever signing. In 1977, Kevin Keegan had played a leading role in the Reds winning the league title and also, for the first time, the European Cup, before joining Bundesliga side Hamburg. Replacing Keegan seemed a tall order, but that is exactly what Dalglish did when Bob Paisley paid a British record transfer fee of £440k to Celtic for him.

What followed was huge success. In his first season, he played 62 games and scored 31 goals, one of which was the winning goal at Wembley against Club Brugge in the European Cup Final. In 1986, he achieved what would seem only possible in the pages of Roy of the Rovers, when as player manager, he led the club to the league and cup double, scoring one of the club’s most memorable goals, at Stamford Bridge to seal the title. Quite simply, Dalglish is royalty on Merseyside.

Stats via Transfermarkt. Correct as of 08.07.24