Best and Worst Liverpool Players to Wear the Number 7 Shirt

Liverpool’s number 7 shirt has always carried expectation. It made Kevin Keegan a superstar, Kenny Dalglish a king, John Barnes untouchable, and Luis Suárez unstoppable. It also left Harry Kewell broken, Robbie Keane gone after half a season, and Alberto Aquilani forgotten, while James Milner wore it with respect if not fireworks. Now it belongs to Florian Wirtz. Liverpool paid £100 million to bring him in this summer and handed him the number 7 immediately. At Anfield, the shirt does not allow time or excuses. It demands proof.

Best and Worst Liverpool Players to Wear the Number 7 Shirt

Kevin Keegan: The First Benchmark

Keegan gave Liverpool’s number 7 its first real weight. Signed from Scunthorpe United in 1971, he scored 100 goals in red and won three league titles, two UEFA Cups, and an FA Cup. Small, quick, and relentless, Keegan was the kind of forward who unsettled defenders not only with his quality but also with his sheer intensity.

When he left for Hamburg in 1977, he went on to win back-to-back Ballon d’Ors. That exit underlined exactly what the number 7 demands: not just good players, but footballers capable of proving they belong among the very best in the world.

Kenny Dalglish: The King

If Keegan gave the shirt its weight, Dalglish gave it immortality. Signed from Celtic in 1977 for a British record fee of £440,000, he was tasked with replacing Keegan, an impossible assignment that he somehow made inevitable. Dalglish scored 172 goals for Liverpool, won six league titles, and lifted three European Cups.

Dalglish wore the number 7 with intelligence, ruthlessness, and composure in the biggest matches. He was more than a forward; he was the club’s identity during its most dominant era. For supporters, he remains The King, and his presence cemented the number 7 as the most iconic shirt in Liverpool’s history.

John Barnes: The Complete Player

If Dalglish embodied intelligence and ruthlessness, Barnes brought dominance and artistry. Arriving in 1987, Barnes gave the number 7 a new dimension. Strong, skilful, and elegant, he could beat defenders with ease or dictate the rhythm of games through sheer influence.

Barnes won two league titles and an FA Cup with Liverpool, and for a stretch in the late 1980s, he was widely regarded as the best player in England. He didn’t just wear the number 7; he redefined it. For supporters who watched him at his peak, Barnes turned the shirt into a symbol of complete attacking authority.

Luis Suárez: The Relentless Force

Suárez gave the shirt its modern edge. Signed from Ajax in 2011, he scored 82 goals in 133 games for Liverpool, including 31 in the 2013/14 league campaign that almost dragged the club to its first Premier League title. That season remains one of the greatest individual efforts in English football history.

Suárez was unpredictable, unstoppable, and often unplayable. He tormented defenders, scored hat-tricks against Norwich City for fun, and made Liverpool relevant again at the top of the table. He left for Barcelona in 2014, but while he was in red, he made Liverpool’s number 7 the most feared shirt in England.

Harry Kewell: Promise Undone

Kewell’s move from Leeds United in 2003 was supposed to be a masterstroke. Instead, injuries ruined his time at Anfield. Across five seasons, he managed just 12 league goals, with long spells on the sidelines defining his stay more than any memorable moment.

Robbie Keane: Gone in Six Months

If Kewell was defined by injuries, Keane was defined by misfit. Signed for £20 million in the summer of 2008, he was meant to add goals and experience to Rafael Benítez’s squad. Instead, he looked out of place almost immediately.

Keane scored a handful of league goals but never settled, and by January, he was back at Tottenham Hotspur. It was a short, forgettable spell that underlined the risk of giving the number 7 shirt to players who are not a natural fit for Liverpool. He was proven quality elsewhere, but at Anfield the expectations proved unforgiving.

Alberto Aquilani: Never There

Aquilani was supposed to replace Xabi Alonso when he arrived from Roma in 2009 for £17 million. Instead, his time in red became a case study in missed opportunities. Injuries delayed his debut, inconsistency limited his influence, and he never imposed himself in the team.

In total, he played just 18 league games across three seasons before departing quietly. Aquilani was technically gifted, but Liverpool’s number 7 does not reward flashes of ability. It demands players who leave their mark in decisive moments. He never came close.

James Milner: Respect Over Flash

Milner was never the typical Liverpool number 7. He was not a winger, not a forward, and not the kind of player likely to dominate a highlight reel. Yet from 2015 to 2023, he gave the shirt something it badly needed: respect.

Milner played in midfield, at full-back, and even once in goal. He captained the side when required, scored crucial penalties, and set the professional standards in Jürgen Klopp’s dressing room. He lifted both the Champions League and Premier League with the number 7 on his back.

Milner may not have been spectacular, but he was invaluable. In an era defined by intensity and relentlessness, his consistency gave the shirt credibility.

Florian Wirtz: The Spotlight Now

Liverpool signed Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2025 for £100 million and immediately handed him the number 7 shirt. At just 21, he arrives with the reputation of being one of Europe’s most gifted creators, having been central to Leverkusen’s Bundesliga triumph.

At Anfield, though, reputations are only the beginning. Wirtz will be judged on the moments that matter: the pass that unlocks a defence in a Champions League knockout, the goal that swings a title race, the performance that makes the Kop roar in unison.

Wirtz does not need to be Barnes or Suárez overnight, but he does need to make the number 7 feel alive again. Liverpool have gambled that he can be the player to do it, and the spotlight will not dim while he adjusts.

The Verdict

Liverpool’s number 7 shirt crowned Keegan, Dalglish, Barnes, and Suárez. It exposed Kewell, Keane, and Aquilani and found respect in Milner.

Now it belongs to Wirtz. The transfer fee is enormous, the expectations even heavier, and the shirt will not wait for him to settle. If he thrives, he will join the legends. If he falters, he will join the long list of players the number has already judged.

At Liverpool, the number 7 does not flatter. It decides.