Highlights

• Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk, and Mohamed Salah are among the current players who have made the all-time Liverpool XI chosen by Jamie Carragher.
• Ray Clemence is regarded as Liverpool's greatest goalkeeper, having played 641 games for the club and winning multiple trophies during his time at Anfield.
• Graeme Souness and Steven Gerrard are considered two of Liverpool's greatest midfielders, with Souness earning 15 trophies during his six-year tenure and Gerrard being hailed as the club's greatest player.

Over the years, Liverpool have been blessed with some truly incredible players donning the famous Red shirt. They're one of the most successful teams in English football, and that's largely down to some of the top stars that have turned out at Anfield throughout history. The level of players that have spent time at the club is pretty ridiculous and with so many elite names playing for them, it can be had to come up with the best XI in Liverpool history.

It's an almighty task, but Jamie Carragher crafted an XI that could be incredibly difficult to top. The defender spent his entire career at Anfield and has now shared the team of players he thinks were a cut above the rest. In a nod to the supreme job Jurgen Klopp has done at the club, no less than three current stars forced their way into Carragher's fantastic side.

Goalkeeper: Ray Clemence

1967-1981

There was only ever going to be one man between the sticks. Ray Clemence was arguably the finest stopper in Europe throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, a period in which Liverpool won five league titles and three European Cups. The shot-stopper played 641 times for the Reds, more than any other goalkeeper in the club's history.

Alisson has done nothing short of an incredible job at Liverpool since he joined the team back in 2018, but he's got a long way to go before he even comes close to matching the legacy that Clemence built for himself throughout his heroics at Anfield.

"It has to be Ray Clemence. He was the legendary goalkeeper when Liverpool started winning European Cups and league titles, so it has to be him."

Right-back: Trent Alexander-Arnold

2016-present

A man who transformed the entire role of a modern full-back, Trent Alexander-Arnold has been nothing short of sublime throughout his career at Anfield. He's spent his entire career with the Reds and is still one of the most important players at the club to this day.

His defensive capabilities have been called into question several times throughout his tenure, but there's absolutely no denying just how dynamic he is bombing forward and his deliveries into the box, creating chances for his teammates, are second to none. He's been magnificent, and it's hard to argue with his spot here. Considering he's still just 25 years old, it's scary to think how much he still could accomplish.

"So I've gone for Trent Alexander-Arnold, ahead of Phil Neal who won four European Cups, but I've gone with that because I think the influence Trent has on this team is greater than Phil Neal."

Centre-back: Virgil van Dijk

2018-present

When Liverpool signed Virgil van Dijk for £75m in January 2018, eyebrows were raised. He'd been a fine player for Southampton, but was he really worth that much money? In hindsight, he was probably worth double what Klopp paid for his services. The centre-back has been phenomenal at Anfield.

His arrival helped transform the team into title contenders and eventually Premier League champions. He's a phenom in the backline and is still a striker's worst nightmare. Van Dijk didn't just become Liverpool's best defender following the move, but he became one of the best defenders in the entire world. After a long-term injury saw his game take a noticeable step back, he's since returned to his best.

Centre-back: Alan Hansen

1977-1991

While younger fans won't be too familiar with the impact that Alan Hansen had in the heart of Liverpool's defence throughout the late 1970s and 1980s, Carragher clearly does, and he's included him in his best-ever XI for very good reason. After breaking through at Partick Thistle and making a name for himself over four years in Scotland, Hansen joined the Reds in 1977 and, over the course of the next 14 years, became one of the club's greatest ever defenders.

Hansen was a spearhead to the most successful Liverpool team ever, winning eight league titles during his time in Merseyside as he played 620 times in all competitions for them.

"Alan Hansen, before Virgil van Dijk came along, was the greatest centre-back who played for Liverpool, so he's alongside Virgil van Dijk."

Left-back: Steve Nicol

1981-1994

Another player who featured in a key role during Liverpool's dominance throughout the 1980s, Steve Nicol is regarded as one of the Reds' greatest-ever left-backs and gets the nod from Carragher here. It's not often a full-back wins the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year award, but that's exactly what the Scot did in 1989, a testament to how good he was.

Another Scotsman, Andy Robertson, can stake a good claim to being the Reds' best left-back ever, but for now, Nicol still pips him in the eyes of Carragher. There's just something about Liverpool and Scottish left-backs and if the former Hull City man keeps things up, he might overtake Nicol.

"And the position for Liverpool that is never set in stone, left back. Steve Nicol I've gone for, he wasn't a renowned left back, he played right across the back four, he was Footballer of the Year, so a special player and I've decided to go with him."

Right-wing: Mohamed Salah

2017-present

Undoubtedly Liverpool's best player since the creation of the Premier League, Mohamed Salah actually has a strong case to be named the best footballer in the Reds' entire history at this point. The Egyptian was brought in after impressing at AS Roma in 2017, but nobody could have predicted just how good he'd be at Anfield.

He's been a revelation and with each year that passes, he seems to get better and better. He might be in his 30s now, but he's still showing no signs of slowing down and no one has scored more goals for Liverpool in the Premier League than his 151. If he keeps scoring at the rate he is, it won't be long before he's scored more league goals than anyone in the club's history.

"Mo Salah has got to go in. He is a Liverpool legend, what he's done in this Jurgen Klopp team. He goes into a position that, again, there was never a real standout figure for me on the right hand side of that attack. So Mo Salah."

Centre midfield: Graeme Souness

1978-1984

Known more these days for his work as a pundit, Graeme Souness earned that gig through his incredible tenure at Anfield from 1978-1984. He spent just six years with the club, but that was more than enough to solidify his place as one of their greatest-ever midfielders and Carragher is clearly a fan.

Souness won 15 trophies during his time at Liverpool, a remarkable return in just six years. He scored goals at a rate you rarely see from a central midfielder, and he was pivotal to the club's success during the 70s and 80s. He even won the European Golden Boot in 1981. Not bad at all.

"Graeme Souness, until Stevie Gerrard came along, was Liverpool's greatest ever midfield player, there's no doubt about that.

"If I was picking this team, Steven Gerrard was my captain (when I played) but I would still have Graeme Souness as captain in this team, so that shows what a leader he was and what a great player he was. Again, a legendary figure."

Centre midfield: Steven Gerrard

1998-2015

Captain. Leader. Legend. There are few players in football history that fit that mantra quite like Steven Gerrard did during his career. The boyhood Liverpool fan spent 17 years with the club and was a fierce leader on the pitch for the majority of that period. His knack for digging in and dragging his team to success when it looked unfathomable made him a hero to the Reds' faithful.

Playing with Carragher for the majority of his career, it's no surprise to see Gerrard included here, but anyone who doesn't have him in their greatest Liverpool XI is bonkers.

"Steven Gerrard, the greatest player to ever play for Liverpool, in my opinion, goes in. The goal against Olympiacos just sums him up, and then we go on to win the Champions League.

"Without that goal, there's no Istanbul and there's no Steven Gerrard in a Liverpool shirt. I'm convinced he'd have moved on that summer because we'd have had no Champions League football."

Left-wing: John Barnes

1987-1997

For a decade, John Barnes was torching defenders on the left wing for Liverpool, and he earns a spot in Carragher's team here. The Englishman was phenomenal at Watford early in his career, scoring in double figures in his first six seasons with the Hornets and it caught the attention of the Reds who signed him in 1987.

His excellent form continued from there, and he carried on scoring for fun. He was named the FWA Footballer of the Year on two occasions during his time in Merseyside and Carragher was a big fan.

"John Barnes. Some of the goals John Barnes scored, for me one of the greatest players of all time for Liverpool.

"For people who haven't watched John Barnes like Micah, the best way to describe him or to tell you what he was like, it was like watching Thierry Henry in the Premier League when he was at his peak for four or five years. From 1987 to 1991."

Striker: Ian Rush

1980-1987, 1988-1996

Liverpool have had some fantastic strikers over the years, but it'd be hard to find anyone who can even compare to Ian Rush during his time at Anfield. After impressing at Chester City in the third division, the Reds made the eyebrow-raising decision to sign the Welshman in 1980, but in hindsight, it was a stroke of genius.

Aside from a year-long spell at Juventus between 1987 & 1988, Rush spent 16 years at Anfield and scored at an absurd rate throughout. He finished as the club's top scorer in eight of his seasons with them and for Carragher, including him here was an easy decision.

"Strikers. This is not a debate. Never been a debate! We've got Ian Rush as well."

Striker: Kenny Dalglish

1977-1990

Was there any doubt that this man would make Carragher's team? King Kenny Dalglish is one of the biggest icons in Liverpool's illustrious history and any fan of the club would include him in their dream XI. He spent 13 years at Anfield and was one of the best players in the world at the time.

His first eight seasons at the club in particular were breathtaking and he finished as runner-up for the Ballon d'Or in 1983, a testament to how good he was. Carragher is a huge fan and feels as though there was no debate whatsoever about Dalglish's spot in the team.

"Any Liverpool fan, anywhere in the world, should always pick Kenny Dalglish, the greatest figure in Liverpool's history in terms of player, manager, what he did around the Hillsborough disaster.

"In his first season, scoring the winning goal in the European Cup final. King Kenny was born that night, and he was always famous for that little dinked finish."

In terms of all-time XIs, there aren't many clubs that can name a team better than this one. Fair play, Carragher.