Top 7 free transfers of all time – Liverpool
By David Gate
Number Seven: Robbie Fowler
On the Kop they call him ‘God’. One of the most beloved players in Liverpool history, the ‘Toxeth Terror’ returned to Liverpool on a free transfer in January 2006. He had left the club to join Leeds in 2001 after falling behind Michael Owen and Emilie Heskey in Gerard Houllier’s pecking order. This came just a few months after lifting the UEFA cup to cap Liverpool’s treble winning season. The feeling was he left us too soon and should have never been allowed to walk away from Anfield.
Therefore Fowler’s surprise return under Rafa Benitez was a joyous moment for the fans. He came in to bolster an underperforming frontline with Peter Crouch, Dijbril Cisse and Fernando Morientes struggling to dominate defenses. By the end of the season he was the best striker at the club despite his fitness issues. The next year Fowler was part of the side that got all the way to Athens to face AC Milan in the Champions League final though was unlucky not to make the match squad.
Though he never matched the scoring success of his first spell at the club his arrival brought hope and joy to the fans. It also gave the Anfield legend the dignified exit he was denied the first time round.
The seventh spot on the list was the hardest as you have to leave out some great players. There are a couple of honorable mentions to make: Jari Litmanen was one of Europe’s best players in the 90’s and it was exciting to see him in Liverpool Red in 2001; Marcus Babbel only made 42 appearances for the Reds but was a stalwart of the back four in the 2000/01 treble winning season; Craig Bellamy came to be an important squad player when he re-signed for the club in Dalglish’s side that made the finals of the League Cup and FA Cup in 2012.