When you think of the most iconic Liverpool players in history, the names of Kenny Dalglish and Ian Rush are often the first to roll off the tongue. Combined, they scored goals, won trophies, and built legacies that still echo through Anfield decades later.
But for one former Liverpool star, it was another name that defined brilliance during his time at the club and he believes that, for a short while at least, no player in Europe could touch him.
Speaking at the book launch of Crossing the Park, Steve McMahon was asked to name the best player he ever shared a pitch with during his Anfield career. His answer was simple.
“I was fortunate, I played with Ian Rush and Kenny Dalglish, but the best one for me was John Barnes.”
High praise, erhaps even controversial in some quarters, but the 63-year old wasn’t exaggerating for effect. He doubled down, making the case that Barnes was operating on a level few have reached not just in England, but across the continent.
“For two years, John Barnes was sensational – he really was. In ’88 when he first came, everyone was a bit sceptical but for two years he was the best in European football without a shadow of a doubt.”
In this present day John Barnes is widely regarded as one of Liverpool’s greatest-ever players. His impact stretched beyond the pitch, too, as one of the first black players to become a true icon in English football, challenging stereotypes and breaking down barriers at a time when racism was still far too common in stadiums across the country.
It’s difficult to overstate just how good Barnes was during that period. Signed from Watford in 1987 for £900,000, the winger brought with him a combination of raw pace, close control, and footballing intelligence that the English game wasn’t used to seeing from a wide player scored 15 league goals.
Liverpool had just lost Ian Rush to Juventus, but Barnes’s arrival helped soften the blow. Playing from the left flank, he would cut inside, glide past defenders with effortless grace, and deliver inch-perfect passes or thunder in goals of his own. It was a style both thrilling and ahead of its time an archetype for the modern wide forward decades before the position was redefined.
In his first two seasons at Liverpool, Barnes was near untouchable. He was central to a side many still consider to be one of the greatest club teams England has ever produced. The 1987–88 league-winning campaign saw Liverpool go 29 games unbeaten, a run in which Barnes was often the creative and destructive heartbeat.
The former England international also played in the 1990 title winning side and scored 22 league goals from the left wing — the highest goal tally of his career.
Now, 38 years after Barnes first pulled on a Liverpool shirt, his former teammate’s verdict is simple – “he was the best, without a shadow of a doubt”.
From a man who played alongside two club legends, it’s a statement that should make us all look back and appreciate just how special John Barnes truly was.
