Ask different Liverpool supporters to name their personal ‘Mount Rushmore’ of Anfield icons, and you will inevitably get a passionate debate. How on earth do you compress over 130 years of glory, European nights, and world-class brilliance down to just four names?
Yet when the man widely regarded as Liverpool's greatest ever player, Steven Gerrard, was put on the spot to select his four definitive pillars of the club's history, his picks sent shockwaves through the fan base leaving no room for Jürgen Klopp, Bob Paisley, or even himself.
In sporting culture, a 'Mount Rushmore' represents the absolute pinnacle the four most influential figures in a sport or team's history.
For basketball, it might be Michael Jordan and LeBron James alongside Bill Russell or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. But for Liverpool Football Club, the competition for places is arguably tougher than anywhere else in sport.
What makes Gerrard’s modesty even more striking is that for an entire generation of Reds, he is the first name written on any Anfield monument.
Across a legendary 17-season senior career at his boyhood club, Stevie G made 710 appearances the third-most in Liverpool history and scored 186 goals alongside 157 assists from midfield.
He was the ultimate big-game player, single-handedly dragging Liverpool to glory in the 2005 Champions League final in Istanbul and scoring that thunderous 30-yard equaliser in the 2006 'Gerrard FA Cup Final' against West Ham.
As the long-serving captain who lifted nine major trophies including the Champions League, UEFA Cup, two FA Cups, and three League Cups Gerrard carried the club on his shoulders through some of it's most challenging eras.
Yet, speaking in an interview with SportBible, the 46-year-old former Reds skipper modestly left himself out of the running, opting instead for an extraordinary four-man line-up featuring a founding manager, a player-manager, a record goalscorer, and a modern legend.
For Gerrard, building any monumental tribute to LFC starts with the man who laid the very foundations of the modern club: Bill Shankly.
"You’ve got to always go back to the roots, the start of the whole Liverpool family, and Bill Shankly was the one who represents us all," Gerrard told SportBible.
Shankly was non-negotiable. He was the visionary who took a struggling Second Division side in 1959, rebuilt the stadium, created the famous Boot Room, and turned Liverpool into an indestructible force rooted in community and working-class pride.
Next came the man who inherited Shankly's spirit and carried it to heights unmatched: Sir Kenny Dalglish.
"I’m going to go for Kenny Dalglish, my dad’s hero," Gerrard revealed. "So we were sort of educated on Kenny first and foremost. We watched every game, every clip, every goal. I was lucky enough to represent him when he was our coach. Top person, top coach, he’s our king basically."
Dalglish’s inclusion speaks to the heart of every Kopite who grew up listening to tales of the 1970s and 80s. Whether scoring the winning goal in the 1978 European Cup final or leading the club through its darkest hour following Hillsborough, 'King Kenny' remains the living embodiment of Liverpool Football Club.
To complete the attacking threat, Gerrard turned to the most lethal marksman ever to wear the red shirt: Ian Rush.
"Ian Rush, he’s our top scorer," Gerrard noted simply and directly. "I think he deserves to be in there." With an astonishing 346 goals across two spells at Anfield, Rush’s record remains a towering benchmark that may never be broken.
Then came the modern selection and the one that ultimately sealed Jürgen Klopp’s omission. Gerrard opted for Mohamed Salah as his fourth icon.
The 34-year-old Egyptian forward left Anfield after nine glittering years, having mutually agreed to end his contract a year early following a turbulent 2025/26 campaign where he was dropped and fell out publicly with then-head coach Arne Slot, before signing a two-year deal with Turkish side Trabzonspor on a free transfer.
Yet despite that complex exit, Salah left Merseyside as the club’s third-highest goalscorer of all time, boasting 257 goals in 442 games alongside seven major honors including the Champions League and Premier League.
Choosing Salah over Klopp was a decision that raised eyebrows across the fanbase. Klopp, after all, was the charismatic savior who ended our 30-year wait for a league title, brought home a sixth European Cup, and forged an unshakeable bond with the city.
However, as any supporter knows, leaving out Klopp wasn't a slight on the German. Even Bob Paisley, the managerial titan who delivered six league titles and three European Cups, couldn't crack Gerrard's final four.
In the end, Gerrard's choices reflect a deep respect for Liverpool's lineage: from Shankly's foundation to Dalglish's royalty, Rush's perfection, and Salah's modern greatness and that is precisely what makes Liverpool so special.
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