Top 10 Liverpool players of the decade

The past ten years have been nothing short of a rollercoaster for Liverpool. The decade started with Rafa Benitez in his final months as the Reds boss, with the wheels falling off his well-oiled machine. Things took a turn for the worse, with Roy Hodgson at the helm. Anfield was not a happy place in 2010.

However, Liverpool has been on a steady rise from those dark days. Kenny Dalglish came in and won the League Cup before Brendan Rodgers taught the Anfield faithful to dream again, taking the Reds agonisingly close to their Premier League title in 2014. After a few years of inconsistency and stagnation, Jürgen Klopp took over as the Liverpool manager.

The past four years have been brilliant, with the Reds gradually improving over time to become the global footballing superpower they are today. Liverpool are the current European champions and are looking good in the league this season. Their current position could not be more different from the doldrums at the start of the decade.

And with that progress has come a good number of gems. From the tough times from the start of the 2010s to today's glory days, Liverpool has had some excellent players. Here are the Reds' ten best players of this decade.

#10 Alisson Becker

Along with the obvious suspects, every member of Liverpool's current first-team could realistically make their way on to the list. A lot of players could have been number ten, including Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andrew Robertson or Gini Wijnaldum. But it is Alisson Becker who takes his place as the tenth best Reds player of the decade, despite only joining the club less than 18 months ago.

Liverpool has not had a pleasant time with goalkeepers since 2010, with Pepe Reina's final years at Anfield not matching up to his excellent first few seasons. Simon Mignolet did a decent job, ut was a bit too inconsistent for a club at the level of Liverpool. Loris Karius also did not enjoy a good stay at the club, with his Reds career ending in disaster following that Champions League final in Kyiv.

Alisson joined Liverpool for £67 million and instantly raised the level of goalkeeping at the club. He has been excellent for the Reds, making some crucial saves on the way to winning the Champions League. The Brazilian number one also won numerous individual awards this year, including the Premier League Golden Glove and the Yachine Trophy for being the best goalkeeper in the world.

It hasn't even been a season and a half, but Alisson Becker is already one of the most important players in Jürgen Klopp's team.

Also check out: Premier League Premier League Table Champions League table

#9 Daniel Sturridge

Daniel Sturridge was one of Brendan Rodgers' most successful signings at Liverpool, joining the club in January 2013 for £12 million, from Chelsea, and making an immediate impact. The Englishman scored in each of his first three appearances for the Reds and then went on an incredible run which saw him score 35 goals in his first season and a half, including Liverpool's title charge in 2014.

Sturridge formed a scintillating strike partnership with Luis Suarez, with the pair of them scoring goals for fun and being the top two goalscorers in the Premier League for 2013-14.

After Suarez left, it looked like the former Manchester City academy graduate would pick up from where he left off. However, injury problems seriously derailed the rest of his Liverpool career.

There was still a few years' worth of contributions left for Sturridge at Anfield, as he scored some massive goals under Jürgen Klopp. His strike against Sevilla in the 2016 Europa League final will always be special, even if the result did not go Liverpool's way.

Sturridge's last goal for the Reds was that last-minute wonder goal at Stamford Bridge and he left the club this summer as a European champion. Not a bad way to go out.

Studge will also be remembered fondly by Liverpool fans for his signature dance, which he has busted out on many different occasions over the years.

#8 Jordan Henderson

When Kenny Dalglish signed Jordan Henderson for £16 million from Sunderland in 2011, many people expected him to be a major flop straight away and go in the direction of other players signed in the same transfer window like Charlie Adam and Stewart Downing.

However, Henderson persisted and remained at Liverpool under Brendan Rodgers. He worked his way into a regular starting place. The 2013-14 season was crucial for him, as he helped spur Liverpool on to unexpected heights.

Henderson was awarded the vice-captaincy in 2014 and got the armband the following year after Steven Gerrard had left Anfield. The English international had some difficult times at the club but he has pressed through all of them to become a key member of Liverpool's midfield.

Henderson is a leader that the Reds players very clearly respect and has done an immense job in silencing his critics over his time at Liverpool. He is now one of the most reliable players that Jürgen Klopp can call upon, working his socks off for the team in every game. These qualities make him the ideal captain for Liverpool, in a team full of leaders.

For his sheer persistence and determination alone, Jordan Henderson deserves a mention as one of the best Liverpool players of the 2010s.

#7 Steven Gerrard

The early 2010s represented the final few years of Steven Gerrard's Liverpool career, with the influential skipper slowly drifting away from his peak years. Gerrard had his fair share of difficulties under the likes of Roy Hodgson and Kenny Dalglish, but he enjoyed a new lease on life under Brendan Rodgers, finding his game again and contributing to the Reds' rise up the ranks.

Gerrard became a set-piece expert in 2013-14 as he came so close to realising his dream and winning the Premier League as Liverpool captain. But it wasn't meant to be. That season ended in the cruellest way imaginable for Liverpool and Gerrard. A crucial slip against a stubborn Chelsea side gave them a rare opening to take the lead and crush Anfield's collective hearts.

The following season was a continuation of the heartbreak for Gerrard, as he announced that it would be his final season as a Liverpool player. Things went very wrong in the final months of the season, as the Reds capitulated. Gerrard himself had many days he would rather forget.

He got sent off within 36 seconds of his final Liverpool vs Manchester United game, while his final game at Anfield ended in a 3-1 loss to Crystal Palace and his final game for Liverpool ended in an embarrassing 6-1 defeat to Stoke City.

Still, through the pain and misery, Steven Gerrard continued to be an inspiration at Anfield who did all he could to lift his boyhood club.

#6 Philippe Coutinho

In terms of pure talent, Philippe Coutinho was Liverpool's best player for the majority of the mid-2010s. He was the Reds' talisman during their transition from Brendan Rodgers to Jürgen Klopp.

After making the move from Inter Milan for a bargain £8 million, Coutinho has progressively become more consistent in a Liverpool shirt and started scoring many fantastic long-rangers, including famous ones against Manchester City and Southampton.

The Brazilian even scored the goal that most thought had won the league for Liverpool in 2014, pouncing on a sliced clearance in the 3-2 win against Man City. While he was good under Rodgers, Coutinho seriously stepped up his game when Klopp took over in late-2015. He became much more influential and improved his all-round game, helping Liverpool reach the Europa League final in 2016 and the Champions League places in 2017.

Even after expressing his intentions to leave the club for Barcelona, Coutinho continued to prove his brilliance at Anfield and enjoyed an excellent first half of the 2017-18 season. He scored twelve goals from September to December, falling two short of his best goalscoring season for Liverpool. Coutinho left the club in January, for a whopping £142 million.

The Brazilian has certainly enjoyed his best footballing days so far at Anfield, with him yet to show the incredible form he attained under the German manager.

#5 Roberto Firmino

While Coutinho was highly influential, he has been surpassed as the best Brazilian to play for Liverpool in the past few months thanks to Roberto Firmino's contributions to the Reds' recent success. Having been signed when Brendan Rodgers was still at the club, the former Hoffenheim forward was at risk of falling short of his potential.

Luckily for Firmino, Jürgen Klopp came in and perfectly utilised him. Bobby played as a false nine for the Reds, a position he still plays to this day and thrived in linking play between the midfield and the attack thanks to his wonderful vision and footballing mind.

Firmino also came up with some important goals for Liverpool, with most of them showcasing his immense level of skill and technique. His lashing volley against Stoke City and audacious chip against Manchester City stand out from a bunch of belters.

The Brazilian has been commended for his unselfish style of play, contributing a fair deal with his defensive game and allowing Liverpool's other forwards to drift into prime scoring positions. Firmino makes Liverpool tick and does run the show, at times, for the Reds.

While he may not be high on the goalscoring charts, Firmino's brilliance is not understated by Liverpool fans. For a player who was seemingly signed by a manager that did not particularly want him, Roberto Firmino has carved out an excellent career for himself at Anfield. More of those outrageous celebrations, please.

#4 Mohamed Salah

Criticise him all you want, but Mohamed Salah's goalscoring record speaks for itself. In less than two and a half seasons at Liverpool, Salah has scored 82 goals. This is more than Fernando Torres managed at Anfield and two less than what Luis Suarez got, with both of them playing over a season more for Liverpool than the Egyptian King has done so.

He joined the club from Roma, looking to prove himself in the Premier League after his failed spell at Chelsea.

Salah took the league by storm and scored a record-breaking 32 goals that season, with 44 goals in all competitions. He terrorized defenders with his electric pace and constantly got himself in excellent positions, coolly finishing past opposition goalkeepers.

The following season was relatively quiet for Salah, but he still managed to bag the Premier League Golden Boot with 22 goals and score an important penalty in the Champions League final.

This season has seen Mo Salah get eleven goals so far, with his form beginning to come together at the right moment. He makes Liverpool a much better team thanks to his elite mentality and hunger for goals. Even if one could say that Salah should improve his finishing in clear opportunities, he can just pop up and create a goal out of nothing.

Some of the goals he scored at Anfield have been out of this world, including stunners against former clubs, Roma and Chelsea.

Depending on how long he chooses to remain at Liverpool, Mohamed Salah could end up as one of the greatest ever forwards in the Reds' illustrious history, at least from a statistical point of view.

#3 Sadio Mane

Sadio Mane was Jürgen Klopp's first high profile signing at Liverpool, joining from Southampton for £34 million. He hit the ground running with a peach of a goal against Arsenal on his debut, before going on to play a crucial part in the Reds finishing in the top four in 2016-17.

Mane is a dynamic player whose unmatched energy makes for a very exciting prospect for Liverpool fans every time he steps on the pitch. The Senegalese star developed a habit of scoring key goals for the Anfield club and even scored in every round of the Champions League in 2017-18, including in the final against Real Madrid.

Mane enjoyed a sensational season last time out, sharing the Golden Boot with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and the previously mentioned Mohamed Salah. He just about edges Salah in this list for his contributions in his first season at Liverpool.

This season, Mane looks even more dangerous and already has 13 goals to his name. His exhilarating pace and cunning trickery continue to shock backlines across England. Out of everybody in the current Liverpool team, Mane might have the biggest will to win as evidenced by the passion he shows in every game both, on and off the pitch.

In a time where Mo Salah has been breaking scoring records left, right and centre, Sadio Mane has stepped up his game and refused to go unnoticed. He truly is a gift of talent for Jürgen Klopp and the Reds.

There is a reason why Leo Messi voted for him to win The Best FIFA Men's Player award.

#2 Virgil van Dijk

Throughout the decade, Liverpool has had some defensive difficulties. After Jamie Carragher's retirement in 2013 and Daniel Agger's departure in 2014, the Reds' backline seemingly got worse as the years went by.

One of the only things stopping Jürgen Klopp from reaching the next level at Liverpool was a top-class defender. After a messy situation in the summer, the Reds signed Virgil van Dijk for £75 million in the winter of 2017. The fee seemed questionable at the time, but the Dutchman got off to a flying start when he scored a late winner against Everton on his debut.

Liverpool struggled defensively in the first half of that season, conceding silly goals to the likes of Newcastle, Watford and especially Tottenham. Following van Dijk's arrival, the Reds became much more solid and conceded a lot fewer goals.

They even ended up reaching the Champions League final in 2018, showing the impact that the big Dutchman had on Liverpool just months after joining the club.

The following season saw van Dijk surpass his own high levels and attain a level of consistency that very few have reached. He bossed games for fun, shutting out the opposition with ease.

The transformation of Liverpool's defence with Virgil van Dijk at the heart of it is borderline miraculous. Everybody seems so much calmer with him on the pitch. van Dijk is very important to the team and always comes up big. At times, he seems like a teacher in a schoolboy match.

van Dijk has been a colossal presence at Anfield for close to two years now and the Dutch destroyer has raised the bar to such ridiculous standards, that he picked up the UEFA Player of the Season award and finished a close second in the 2019 Ballon d'Or vote.

#1 Luis Suarez

While Liverpool's current crop of players has achieved some ridiculous feats in the past year or so, there is one player whose talent has remained as untouchable as ever. Luis Suarez was just a different beast at Liverpool, being a talisman-and-a-half for the Reds.

He joined the club in January 2011 for £22.8 million at the same time when Liverpool paid a then-record £35 million for Andy Carroll. Suarez immediately ran the show for the Reds and lifted them to a respectable top-six finish, after the calamitous start that Reds had to endure with Roy Hodgson in charge.

The following season was barraged by the racism incident involving Patrice Evra, which saw Suarez get banned for eight games. He still managed 16 goals that season, helping them reach both domestic finals.

However, the Uruguayan found his stride under Brendan Rodgers and began to bang in the goals for Liverpool. If it wasn't for his ridiculous biting incident in April 2013, Suarez would have likely ended the 2012-13 season with the Golden Boot despite Liverpool finishing in seventh place.

The following season was the one that cements Suarez as the greatest player to play for the Reds in this decade. Despite missing the first five games, the current Barcelona hitman scored a record-equalling 31 goals in the Premier League and played some breathtaking football.

For real, Suarez was outstanding throughout the entire season. His passion and desire on the pitch were unmatched, while some of the things he did were outrageous. Suarez single-handedly dragged a decent Liverpool team into a legitimate title challenge and within inches of lifting the elusive crown.

He was and still is, one of the most polarizing players in the world. However, nobody could dispute how phenomenal he was for the Reds during the 2013-14 season.

Suarez's time at Liverpool may be controversial, but he always showed brilliance on the football pitch. Some of the goals he scored have been unbelievable. Just ask Norwich City about them.

Edited by Vishal Subramanian