With a shirt number always becoming available year on year, players often seek a change to a lower number – with 48 Liverpool players, more often than not, having done just that since 1992.
What number would you take if you had free choice? It’s a game we’ve all played and the final decision is often inspired by a multitude of factors.
From an idol to a lucky number, a family link and so much more. Whereas for others, it will be just that – a number.
In the Premier League era, though, 48 different players, who have made a competitive appearance for the club, have made a change to their shirt number.
Robbie Fowler and Steven Gerrard have donned three different numbers, the joint-most, with others settling for making a swap just once:
LFC Shirt No. Swaps
Alvaro Arbeloa – 2, 17
Andrea Dossena – 2, 38
Vladimir Smicer – 7, 11
Roberto Firmino – 11, 9
Yossi Benayoun – 11, 15
Jerzy Dudek – 12, 1
Joe Gomez – 12, 2
John Scales – 12, 3
Sami Hyypia – 12, 4
Fabio Aurelio – 12, 6
Alisson – 13, 1
David James – 13, 1
Jamie Redknapp – 15, 11
Steve McManaman – 17, 7
Maxi Rodriguez – 17, 11
Craig Bellamy – 17, 39
John Arne Riise – 18, 6
Michael Owen – 18, 10
Sadio Mane – 19, 10
Anthony Le Tallec – 20, 13
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – 21, 15
Salif Diao – 21, 15
Steve Harkness – 22, 12
Robbie Fowler – 23, 11, 9
Danny Murphy – 24, 13
Neil Ruddock – 25, 14
Jay Spearing – 26, 20
Scott Carson – 26, 20
Steven Gerrard – 28, 17, 8
Richie Partridge – 28, 26
Brad Friedel – 29, 19
Djimi Traore – 30, 21
Bolo Zenden – 30, 32
Patrice Luzi – 39, 29
Stephen Darby – 39, 32
Nathan Eccleston – 39, 36
Nabil El Zhar – 42, 31
Jordon Ibe – 44, 33
Dani Pacheco – 47, 12
Damien Plessis – 47, 28
Curtis Jones – 48, 17
Emiliano Insua – 48, 22
Cameron Brannagan – 50, 32
Rhian Brewster – 57, 24
Harvey Elliott 67, 19
Elijah Dixon-Bonner – 69, 45
Jake Cain – 80, 64
Leighton Clarkson – 84, 65
*Info from LFCHistory.net
Interestingly, five players who started in the No. 12 went on and changed their number, Joe Gomez being the latest, while two took it up to move lower.
Other popular moves include the No. 17 and No. 11 shirts, with six different movements each over the course of the last two decades.
In Jurgen Klopp‘s current senior squad, six players are in a different shirt number than the one they made their first Liverpool appearance in.
They are, Roberto Firmino (No. 11 to 9), Curtis Jones (48 to 17), Harvey Elliott (67 to 19), Gomez (12 to 2), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (21 to 15) and Alisson (13 to 1).
Could Trent Alexander-Arnold ever be tempted to swap his No. 66 that was first given to him in his academy days?
Traditionalists may want to see it but he’s certainly carving out his own history in the number as the only player to ever wear it for the club, which he has now done on 246 occasions.
