As Liverpool and AS Monaco meet on Sunday in a high-profile pre-season friendly ahead of the 2026/27 campaign, eyes turn to the shared heritage between the Premier League powerhouse and the Ligue 1 giants.
The last time these two clubs met was in 2004 during the group stage of the Champions League.
It’s been 22 years since AS Monaco last visited Anfield. Ahead of Sunday’s clash, only seven players in history have had the privilege of representing both the Reds and the French side.
Let's dive into these seven and how they fared for both European giants.
AS Monaco (all comps) | Liverpool (all comps) | |
|---|---|---|
Salif Diao | 1996-99 (40 games) | 2002-04 (61 games) |
Patrice Luzi | 1997-01 (1 game) | 2002-05 (1 game) |
John Arne Riise | 1998-01 (64 games) | 2001-08 (348 games) |
Fernando Morientes | 2003-04 (42 games) | 2004-05 (61 games) |
Djimi Traore | 2009-10 (36 games) | 2000-05 (141 games) |
Fabinho | 2013-17 (233 games) | 2018-22 (219 games) |
Takumi Minamino | 2022-Present (120 games) | 2019-21 (55 games) |
7. Salif Diao
The Senegalese defensive midfielder also started his career with Les Monégasques, just a season before Luzi.
He was sent on loan in his first season, to Ligue 2 side Épinal, where he only made two appearances. By his fourth season with Monaco he had won the French League title.
In 2002, he joined Liverpool, signed by Gérard Houllier for £5 million (€7.5m) from French club Sedan. His time at the Reds was plagued by being used out of position as well as poor form.
Diao was eventually replaced by Xabi Alonso and Mohamed Sissoko during Rafa Benitez's reign.
6. Patrice Luzi
A name few of even the most passionate of football fans will have ever heard of.
The French goalkeeper started his career at AS Monaco, made one appearance, then returned to his birthtown of Ajaccio for a season before his move to Merseyside.
His sole appearance for the Reds came in a 1-0 win against Chelsea in January of 2004.
After being released in 2005, he signed a contract with Belgian side Excelsior Mouscron, staying there for a year before joining Charleroi. His final club was Rennes, with whom he spent three years before retiring in 2010.
5. John Arne Riise
A bonafide Liverpool legend in his own right. Known by many for his rocket of a left foot, the Norwegian made a name for himself under Rafa Benitez.
Like Diao and Luzi, he was part of Monaco's title winning side of the 1999-00 season, and despite interest from other Premier League clubs that season, he joined the Reds the following year in 2001.
Between 2001 and 2008 the fullback made 348 appearances and scored 31 goals. He will always be remembered fondly by the red side of Liverpool for his assist for Steven Gerrard's goal during that night in Istanbul.
In 2008 he left for Roma, where he also became a fan favourite.
4. Fernando Morientes
The Spaniard signed for Monaco on loan from Real Madrid in 2003, and spent a year with Les Monégasques, scoring 10 goals in the league, as well as nine goals in the Champions League.
Despite a good season abroad, the striker's hopes of continuing at Real were scuppered with the arrival of Liverpool's Michael Owen before the 2004-05 season. He then joined the Reds in January 2005 in a delayed-swap-deal-of-sorts.
Mortientes arrived at Anfield with a big reputation - he had scored 100 goals in 272 games (all comps) for Real Madrid, but after just 12 goals in 61 appearances for the Reds, the Spaniard isn't the most remembered Fernando around Liverpool.
The striker would eventually return to Spain, joining Valencia in the summer of 2006.
3. Djimi Traoré
Traoré joined the Reds in 1999 from his local club Laval. In 2001, he was loaned out to Lens for the season and returned to Merseyside for the 2002-03 season.
The Malian defender had a tough time under Houllier, and almost left the Reds for Everton in 2004, but new manager Rafa Benitez convinced him to stay.
Under the Spaniard, Traoré improved, and despite mistakes here and there, he will always have the iconic moment of stopping AC Milan's Andriy Shevchenko from scoring with a goal-line clearance in Istanbul.
However, with the emergence of Riise and Stephen Warnock as competition for the left-back position, his minutes became limited and he eventually left for Charlton Athletic in 2006.
In 2009, he joined AS Monaco from Portsmouth, and made 36 appearances there during his two years with the club.
2. Fabinho
One of Liverpool's best ever midfielders, and arguably the one that has been the hardest to replace.
Typified by his skinny frame, Flaco as they used to call him, yet the Brazilian acclimatised to the Premier League incredibly well - and won everything he could during his time at the Reds.
But, prior to the red of Liverpool, he was in the red and white of Monaco. In between his time at Fluminese and Monaco, he was briefly at Rio Ave and Real Madrid, and in 2013 ultimately chose the Monaco as his destination of choice after Brazil.
Initially on loan, he joined permanently in 2015 and spent a total of five years with the club. He won the league title in 2016-17, and was part of the iconic squad featuring Bernardo Silva, Radamel Falcao and Kylian Mbappe that beat Manchester City in the Champions League.
Then, out of nowhere, following the heartbreaking defeat in Kyiv, Fabinho joined Liverpool in 2018 for £39 million.
The 'Lighthouse' of Liverpool's midfield was integral to the squad that etched itself into history, winning the Champions League in 2018-19, the Premier League title in the 2019-20 season, as well as the UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup, FA Cup, EFL Cup and a Community Shield.
Following a disappointing 2022-23 season for the Brazilian, he left the club and joined Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad.
1. Takumi Minamino
Taki, as he was affectionately known, was Liverpool's domestic cup hero. The Japanese forward scored many important goals for the Reds in several cup competitions, notably domestic ones, and was key in the runs to the domestic cup double in the 2021-22 season.
He joined in January 2020 from RB Salzburg after the Reds paid his release clause, and made his debut against Everton in the FA Cup.
Minamino was a bit-part player for the Reds, often used as a rotational option, and as a result moved to Southampton on loan in February 2021 for the rest of the 2020-21 season.
He will be remembered for his last minute equaliser against Leicester in the EFL Cup in 2021, as well as his three goals during the FA Cup that same season, as Liverpool ended up winning both trophies. By the end of his time in Liverpool, the forward had scored 14 goals in 55 appearances.
In June 2022, the forward joined AS Monaco, and after struggling in his debut season, the Japanese international has shone for the Ligue 1 side. In 2023-24 he was named the club's player of the season, and had a solid 2024-25 season ending with 14 G/A.
But in December 2025 he cruelly suffered an ACL injury, and alongside compatriot and current Liverpool player Wataru Endo, missed out on featuring for Japan during the 2026 World Cup.
Fun fact: in 2014 Minamino held a Guinness World Record for the most high fives in a minute whilst running, reaching 187 high fives!
Monaco are the first of two pre-season friendlies taking place at Anfield before the Reds face Newcastle in the first game of the season.
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