Have Liverpool ever had the world’s best player in their ranks? Legendary Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard might have been able to lay claim to it at some stage during his storybook career at Anfield but the game’s biggest individual gongs were often scooped by attackers like Ronaldinho and Kaka during that time frame.
Luis Suarez may point to his 2013/14 heroics as evidence but Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo dominated the Ballon d’Or scene during the mid 2010s and beyond.
There is perhaps no more iconic figure in club history than the great Sir Kenny Dalglish, but even his enduring excellence never really earned worldwide recognition during a different, more insular time for the global game in the late 1970s and 80s.
Michael Owen’s Ballon d’Or win of 2001 was achieved when the famous bauble was given out to celebrate the finest player in Europe as opposed to the world and for all the good, the great and the genius who have come and gone at Anfield, there have always been other, more glamorous players across the sport who have been perceived as bigger and brighter stars than those who have succeeded on Merseyside.
Right now, though, there are surely few arguments against Mohamed Salah being the planet’s preeminent footballer. Twenty goals before the New Year has been ushered in is a statistic that is supported by his 17 assists, the most sublime of which came in his latest masterclass against West Ham United on Sunday for Diogo Jota.
In the Premier League itself – the competition widely regarded the strongest on the continent – Liverpool’s top scorer has 17 goals and 13 assists from 18 appearances and all for a team who lead the division by eight points. Arne Slot’s side, as it happens, also sit at the summit of the revamped, 32-team Champions League too.