Mo Salah exit: Where does the Premier League legend rank amongst the top 10 greatest Liverpool players of all time?

Given that Premier League champions Liverpool are the most successful club in the history of English football, it comes as no surprise that Anfield has been home to some of the finest stars to ever play the game over the years.

From legends such as Graeme Souness and Kenny Dalglish that helped the Reds become the powerhouse that they are known as today, to modern greats of the sport like current captain Virgil van Dijk, the club's record books are full of heroic figures.

However, Liverpool are set to wave goodbye to arguably the best Premier League player of all time at the end of the 2025-26 campaign, with Mohamed Salah announcing his departure on Tuesday.

The Egyptian has agreed a deal with the Merseysiders that will see his contract cut short at the close of the season, calling time on an illustrious nine-year career at Anfield and facilitating a potential free transfer elsewhere.

After the news of Salah's departure, Sports Mole takes a look at the top 10 greatest Liverpool players of all time, considering the impact of each on the Reds.

10. Ian Callaghan (1960-1978)

Appearances: 857

Goals: 68

Honours:

League titles: 5 (1963-64, 1965-66, 1972-73, 1975-76, 1976-77)
European Cups: 2 (1977, 1978)
FA Cups: 2 (1965, 1974)
UEFA Cups: (1973, 1976)
UEFA Super Cups: 1 (1977)
Second Division titles: 1 (1961-62)

Liverpool's record appearance holder Ian Callaghan was the only player to last from the era before Bill Shankly all the way through the triumphs achieved under the legendary manager's successor, Bob Paisley.

One of many local lads that have gone on to become Reds legends, Callaghan initially joined the club as an apprentice before impressing in outings with the reserves and joining the first-team setup at the age of 17.

The Toxteth youngster became a regular out wide, supplying the strike partnership of Roger Hunt and Ian St John as the club earned promotion in 1961-62, before helping Liverpool to league triumphs in 1963-64 and 1965-66, picking up an FA Cup in between.

Callaghan was unfortunate enough to require a cartilage operation that saw him miss significant portions of the 1970-71 season, but he returned to the lineup in a new midfield role, and even became the first Liverpool player to win the Football Writers' Player of the Year award in 1973-74.

9. Roger Hunt (1959-1969)

Appearances: 492

Goals: 285

Honours:

First Division titles: 2 (1963-64, 1965-66)
Second Division titles: 1 (1961-62)
FA Cups: 1 (1964-65)
Charity Shields: 3 (1964, 1965, 1966)
First Division Golden Boot: 1 (1965-66)
Second Division Golden Boot: 1 (1961-62)

It speaks volumes to the impressive career that Roger Hunt enjoyed that Liverpool fans titled him 'Sir' unofficially, after he was overlooked for the honour following his role in helping England lift the World Cup in 1966.

Hunt was scouted from an amateur side by former Reds man Bill Jones, and when Shankly took the reins at Anfield, the striker grew into one of the finest in the land, guiding the club to promotion from the Second Division with 41 goals in 41 league games during the 1961-62 campaign.

Continuing his prolific scoring feats in the top flight, Hunt bagged 31 in 1963-64 and 30 in 1965-66 as Liverpool went on to win the title twice in three seasons, and by the time he left the club at the end of the decade, he had netted 285 goals, making him the club's record goalscorer at the time.

Hunt currently sits second in Liverpool's all-time top-scorers list, and he will not be overtaken any time soon.

8. John Barnes (1987-1997)

Appearances: 407

Goals: 108

Honours:

League titles: 2 (1987-88, 89-90)
FA Cups: 2 (1989, 1992)
League Cups: 1 (1996)

Starting out as a winger before later transitioning into a midfield role, John Barnes established himself as one of the most exciting players in the world during an impressive 10 years with Liverpool.

The forward was signed from Watford for a fee of approximately £900,000 in the summer of 1987, and linked up with Peter Beardsley, Ian Rush and John Aldridge to form a deadly attacking force that went on to win the league in his debut season.

Often considered to be one of the best players around during the late 1980s, Barnes collected the 1987-88 PFA Players' Player of the Year award, before outscoring even Rush during the Reds' title-winning 1989-90 season with a tally of 22 goals in 34 games.

After suffering an Achilles injury towards the end of the 1991-92 campaign, Barnes lost much of his explosive pace, but managed to make the most of his creativity by dropping deeper and building play alongside the likes of Jamie Redknapp in the centre of the park.

7. Ian Rush (1980-87 & 1988-96)

Appearances: 660

Goals: 346

Honours:

First Division titles: 5 (1981-82, 1982-83, 1983-84, 1985-86, 1989-90)
FA Cups: 3 (1985-86, 1988-89, 1991-92)
League Cups: 5 (1980-81, 1981-82, 1982-83, 1983-84, 1994-95)
Football League Super Cup: 1 (1985-86)
Charity Shield: 4 (1982, 1986, 1989, 1990)
European Cups: 2 (1980-81, 1983-84)
PFA Young Player of the Year: 1 (1983)
PFA Players' Player of the Year: 1 (1984)
FWA Footballer of the Year: 1 (1984)
PFA First Division Team of the Year: 5 (1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1991)
European Golden Boot: 1 (1984)
First Division Golden Boot: 1 (1984)

Part of a dynamic duo alongside fellow Reds icon Kenny Dalglish, Ian Rush ascended to become the record goalscorer in the history of Liverpool football club during an exceptional 16 years on Merseyside.

The Welshman was signed from Chester by Paisley in 1980 for a sum of £300,000, and while his debut campaign saw the number nine draw a blank across a mere nine appearances, his second term at Anfield proved to be a turning point.

Paisley showed faith in the striker, and after installing him in the first-team, Rush paid back the boss by firing home 30 goals in 49 appearances during the 1981-82 season on the way to lifting the First Division and League Cup.

In 1982-83, Rush was able to top that tally by scoring 31, a figure bolstered by a legendary performance at Goodison Park in November, when the centre-forward hit four. However, he was still capable of going further, netting a staggering 47 just one term later as Liverpool secured a First Division, League Cup and European Cup treble.

Rush's troubled move to Juventus in 1987 proved to be to the Reds' benefit, as their lauded striker returned home in 1988 to continue his feats against the Toffees, and by the time he left again for Leeds United in 1996, the Welshman had racked up a record-breaking 346 goals.

6. Alan Hansen (1977-1990)

Appearances: 620

Goals: 14

Honours:

League titles: 8 (1978-79, 1979-80, 1981-82, 1982-83, 1983-84, 1985-86, 1987-88, 1989-90)
European Cups: 3 (1978, 1981, 1984)
FA Cups: 2 (1986, 1989)
League Cups: 4 (1981, 1982, 1983, 1984)
UEFA Super Cups: 1 (1977)

A fixture in every all-time Liverpool XI, Alan Hansen had all the tools of a modern ball-playing centre-back despite featuring in an era known for its physicality.

The Scotsman joined Paisley's all-conquering side in 1977 from Partick Thistle for a fee of £100,000, and eventually rose to the rank of captain when he was handed the armband by player-manager Dalglish in 1985.

Spending 13 years with the Reds, Hansen collected a staggering 18 major honours, including eight league titles and three European Cups, and became the benchmark that almost all future Liverpool defenders failed to match up to.

It is perhaps indicative of the centre-half's prowess that the 1989-90 title - which was won during Hansen's final season at the club - was not followed up until 30 years later in 2019-20.

5. Virgil van Dijk (2018-present)

Appearances: 358

Goals: 33

Honours:

Premier League titles: 2 (2019-20, 2024-25)
FA Cups: 1 (2021-22)
EFL Cups: 2 (2021-22, 2023-24)
Community Shields: 1 (2022)
Champions Leagues: 1 (2018-19)
UEFA Super Cups: 1 (2019)
Club World Cups: 1 (2019-20)

When Virgil van Dijk was signed from Southampton in January 2018 for a then-world-record fee for a defender (£75m), fans of rival clubs questioned the figures involved, doubting that the Dutchman was capable of living up to such expectations.

However, Liverpool's outlay has proven to be a bargain in the years since, as the centre-back has transformed the club's backline and gone on to win every trophy at the highest level of European football since making the switch.

Van Dijk's displays in the 2018-19 campaign are likely to go down in history as his best, and for what was arguably the greatest season ever played by a defender, the star of Jurgen Klopp's backline finished second in the Ballon d'Or rankings, a mere seven points behind Lionel Messi.

When Jordan Henderson departed the club in the summer of 2023, Van Dijk became the club's captain, and led the team to a second Premier League title in five years during the 2024-25 campaign under Arne Slot.

Still going strong at the heart of Liverpool's defence, the 34-year-old has shown little sign of slowing down, even if the Reds have not been at their best this term.

4. Graeme Souness (1978-1984)

Appearances: 359

Goals: 55

Honours:

League titles: 5 (1978-79, 1979-80, 1981-82, 1982-83, 1983-84)
European Cups: 3 (1978, 1981, 1984)
League Cups: 4 (1981, 1982, 1983, 1984)

Fans from younger generations may recognise Graeme Souness from his role as a pundit, but the Scotsman is one of the most decorated midfielders in the history of English football.

Paisley signed Souness from Middlesbrough for £300,000 in January 1978, a fee that was a record between two English clubs at the time, and it would be fair to say that he lived up to the price tag.

The icon garnered a reputation for being a combative, physical presence in the centre of the park, and while he was that, he was also an impressive technical player with great passing vision and an eye for goal.

His volley against Manchester United on just his second appearance at Anfield will be remembered by many, and his assist for Dalglish's winner in the 1978 European Cup final against Club Brugge capped off an impressive first few months Merseyside.

Souness was named captain in January 1982, and he guided the club to three league titles, a European Cup and three League Cups while wearing the armband, before departing for Sampdoria at the end of the 1983-84 campaign.

One of Liverpool's greatest-ever players, Souness scored the winner in the 1984 League Cup final against Everton, and signed off by scoring his spot kick in the 1984 European Cup final against Roma, securing his 12th major honour in just six years at Anfield.

3. Mohamed Salah (2017-present)

Appearances: 435

Goals: 255

Honours:

Premier League titles: 2 (2019-20, 2024-25)
Champions League titles: 2 (2018-19)
FA Cups: 1 (2021-22)
EFL Cups: 2 (2021-22, 2023-24)
Club World Cups: 1 (2020)
UEFA Super Cups: 1 (2019)
Community Shields: 1 (2022)
PFA Premier League Team of the Year: 4 (2017-18, 2020-21, 2021-22, 2024-25)
PFA Players' Player of the Year: 3 (2017-18, 2021-22, 2024-25)
PFA Fans' Player of the Year: 3 (2017-18, 2020-21, 2021-22)
FWA Footballer of the Year: 3 (2017-18, 2021-22, 2024-25)
Premier League Player of the Season: 2 (2017-18, 2024-25)
Premier League Golden Boot: 4 (2017-18, 2018-19 (shared), 2021-22 (shared), 2024-25)
Premier League Playmaker Award: 2 (2021-22, 2024-25)
Premier League Goal of the Season: 1 (2021-22)
Liverpool Players' Player of the Season: 5 (2017-18, 2020-21, 2021-22, 2023-24, 2024-25)
UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season: 1 (2017-18)
Puskas Award: 1 (2018)

Undoubtedly one of the greatest players to ever grace the pitch at Anfield, Mohamed Salah brushed aside any question marks over his failed stint at Chelsea to become the Reds' best Premier League player of all time.

The Egyptian King made the switch from Roma in the summer of 2017 for an initial fee of £36.9m, and formed a formidable front three alongside Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino that won every trophy at the highest level of club football under Klopp.

Salah broke the Premier League's record for the most goals in a 38-game season during his debut campaign - bagging 32 in 2017-18 - and the winger's remarkable consistency across nine seasons saw him overtake Manchester United's Wayne Rooney to snatch the crown as the player with the most goal contributions for a single club in the history of the division.

The winger also produced arguably the best-ever Premier League season in 2024-25, netting 29 times and providing a further 18 assists for his teammates on the way to lifting the title once again.

Those numbers saw Salah collect both the golden boot and playmaker award, not to mention that being directly involved in 55% of Liverpool's goals last term earned him the PFA Players' Player of the Year for a record-breaking the third time.

In fact, Salah has scored or assisted 37% of the Reds' goals since his arrival at Anfield, and given his immense importance, it is difficult to see how the Merseysiders can replace him when he departs in the summer.

2. Steven Gerrard (1998-2015)

Appearances: 710

Goals: 186

Honours:

Champions League titles: 1 (2004-05)
FA Cups: 2 (2000-01, 2005-06)
EFL Cups: 3 (2000-01, 2002-03, 2011-12)
UEFA Cups: 1 (2000-01)
UEFA Super Cups: 1 (2001)
Community Shields: 1 (2006)
PFA Premier League Team of the Year: 8 (2000-01, 2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09, 2013-14)
PFA Players' Player of the Year: 1 (2005-06)
PFA Young Player of the Year: 1 (2000-01)
PFA Fans' Player of the Year: 2 (2000-01, 2008-09)
FWA Footballer of the Year: 1 (2008-09)
UEFA Club Footballer of the Year: 1 (2005)
Liverpool Player of the Season: 4 (2004, 2006, 2007, 2009)
FIFA FIFPRO World XI: 3 (2007, 2008, 2009)
UEFA Team of the Year: 3 (2005, 2006, 2007)

Local lad Steven Gerrard is widely regarded as one of the best midfielders of all time, though the fact that he featured in a number of Liverpool teams that failed to match his quality means he lacks the trophy haul of contemporaries such as Zinedine Zidane.

However, such was Gerrard's prowess as a complete midfielder that he was able to capture the attention and inspire his side to a number of major honours, with his most notable performances going down in club folklore.

The 2005 Champions League final remains one of the most dramatic in the competition's history, thanks in no small part to the number eight's contributions towards a three-goal Liverpool comeback against an AC Milan that featured the likes of Kaka, Cafu, Andrea Pirlo, Alessandro Nesta, Jaap Stam and Paolo Maldini.

The 2006 FA Cup final is also frequently referred to as 'The Gerrard Final', for the heroics that the Reds' talisman delivered. Suffering from cramp, the midfielder was able to score an incredible long-range volley in second-half stoppage time to take the game to extra time, after which Liverpool won the cup on penalties.

Even in his later years, Gerrard remained a force to be reckoned with. Positioned deep at the base of Brendan Rodgers' midfield in 2013-14, the captain managed to produce 13 goals and 13 assists in the league, though he would depart at the end of 2014-15 after scoring his final Liverpool goal against Stoke City.

1. Kenny Dalglish (1977-1990)

Appearances: 515

Goals: 172

Honours:

First Division titles: 6 (1978-79, 1979-80, 1981-82, 1982-83, 1983-84, 1985-86)
FA Cups: 1 (1985-86)
League Cups: 4 (1980-81, 1981-82, 1982-83, 1983-84)
Football League Super Cup: 1 (1985-86)
Charity Shield: 5 (1977 (shared), 1979, 1980, 1982, 1986 (shared))
European Cups: 3 (1977-78, 1980-81, 1983-84)
European Super Cup: 1 (1977-78)
PFA Team of the Year: 5 (1978-1979, 1979-1980, 1980-1981, 1982-1983, 1983-1984)
PFA Players' Player of the Year: 1 (1982-83)
FWA Footballer of the Year: 2 (1978-79, 1982-83)

Kenny Dalglish is a name that is synonymous with Liverpool football club, and his legacy is proudly held aloft, with the Scottish legend even having a stand at Anfield named after him.

Dalglish had a trial with the Reds at the age of 15, but he began his career with Celtic, establishing himself as one of the most promising forwards around before making the move to Merseyside in 1977 for a British record fee of £440,000.

Paisley sought out the star man in order to replace Hamburg-bound Kevin Keegan, and while fans were understandably nervous about the future, their concerns were quickly allayed when Dalglish scored just seven minutes into his league debut against Middlesbrough, before notching against Newcastle United on his first Anfield appearance.

Rounding off an impressive opening campaign with Liverpool, Dalglish scored the winner in the 1978 European Cup final, taking his tally for the season to 31 across all competitions.

Much more than a pure goalscorer, the Scotsman was an unselfish player who loved to bring others into the action, facilitating the likes of David Johnson in his early days with the club, before developing a deadly partnership with Rush in the 1980s.

Dalglish collected the 1979 Football Writers' Player of the Year award and later a pair of Player of the Year crowns in 1983, as his growing stature in the game saw his name correctly mentioned alongside fellow icons such as Diego Maradona.

However, the number seven remained a humble figure despite his fame, something that endeared him further to the Liverpool fanbase.

After becoming player-manager in 1985 following Joe Fagan's retirement, many supporters were concerned that his off-field duties would deny the team their brightest star, but an impressive run at the tail end of the 1985-86 season saw Dalglish win a First Division and League Cup double.

Adding further to his legend, it was the Scotsman that scored the goal to clinch the league title at Stamford Bridge that term.

That being said, the player-manager's appearance numbers dwindled over the years, and after not featuring on the pitch during Liverpool's 1988-89 league campaign, Dalglish came on as a substitute against Derby County on May 5, 1990 to make his final run out, three years after his final goal against Nottingham Forest on April 18, 1987.