Since 1999, the Reds have completed the signing of 24 players on July 1st including some current stars and European trophy-winning legends.

You’ll find all 24 of the July 1st arrivals and the year they signed for LFC listed below, but can you pick a better starting XI - in Jürgen Klopp’s preferred 4-3-3 formation - from this squad than we have? It’s trickier than you may think…

JULY 1st LFC SQUAD

GOALKEEPERS

Pegguy Arphexad (2000), Adam Bogdan (2015), Loris Karius (2016)

DEFENDERS

Markus Babbel (2000), Steve Finnan (2003), Nathaniel Clyne (2015), Joël Matip (2016), Ibrahima Konaté (2021)

MIDFIELDERS

Gary McAllister (2000), Anthony Le Tallec (2003), Sebastian Leto (2007), Adam Lallana (2014), James Milner (2015), Fabinho (2018), Naby Keita (2018), Fabio Carvalho (2022)

FORWARDS

Erik Meijer (1999), Florent Sinama-Pongolle (2003), Djibril Cissé (2004), Craig Bellamy (2006), Dani Pacheco (2007), Danny Ings (2015), Dominic Solanke (2017), Ben Doak (2022)

LIVERPOOL FC MEMBERSHIP XI

Goalkeeper: Pegguy Arphexad

He was French and spent most of his four-season Liverpool FC career on the bench, but we’ve selected Pegguy Arphexad because he wasn’t just a great shot-stopper, but a lucky omen. The jogging bottom-wearing goalie made six appearances under Gérard Houllier and the Reds won all six matches by scorelines of 2-1, 8-0, 5-0, 2-1, 4-1 and 6-0 - giving Arphexad a 100% win ratio with an aggregate score of 27-3! Pegguy was also an unused substitute when LFC won the League Cup, FA Cup, UEFA Cup, FA Charity Shield, UEFA Super Cup (all 2001) and League Cup again (2003), meaning that he left Liverpool FC with six medals to go with his six appearances. There can’t be many players with better trophy ratios than that!

Right-back: Steve Finnan

The Kop’s Michael Finnegan-inspired song for Republic of Ireland international right-back Steve Finnan sums up perfectly why he’s in our team: “We’ve got a right-back called Steve Finnan, when he plays we’re always winnin’, passes the ball out and in again, we’ve got a right-back called Steve Finnan’. Leaving 2001 treble-winner Markus Babbel out of our starting XI is a big call, but Finnan was a model of consistency during his 217 appearances for Liverpool FC after arriving from Fulham FC and was a member of our 2005 UEFA Champions League winning side in Istanbul. He also won a UEFA Super Cup in 2005, the FA Cup in 2006 and is rumoured to have left LFC in 2008 with his pockets full of wingers who couldn’t get past him.

Left-back: James Milner

Okay, okay, we’ve included him as a midfielder in the squad list above, but with no regular left-back signed on July 1st, who better to slot into the role - and wear the captain’s armband - than James Milner? Milly was so good in the left-back position in 2016/17 that you’d have thought he’d played there for the whole of his career and who will ever forget his incredible goalline clearance against AFC Bournemouth at Anfield in 2020 when the Reds were having their first wobble en-route to winning the Premier League? Having Milner in the side also gives us an expert penalty taker, his 45 assists from 332 appearances for Liverpool FC adds creativity and we’re pretty sure he’s fit enough to still be playing when he’s 45. Surely he makes your starting XI?

Centre-back: Ibrahima Konaté

You won’t hear Liverpool FC supporters boo their players, but you will hear shouts of ‘Iboooooou’ whenever Ibrahima Konaté makes a successful tackle at Anfield. Which is quite often. Despite injury restricting the French international centre-back to just 18 Premier League appearances last season, Konaté won 38 tackles - an average of better than two per game. For context, only two central defenders in the entire Premier League (Leeds United FC’s Pascal Struijk and Tottenham Hotspur FC’s Christian Romero) won over 60 tackles in the top-flight during the 2022/23 season, so if Ibou had played in all 38 of LFC’s matches it is reasonable to think he would have been right up there as the top-tackling centre-back. At 24 he is only going to get better and better.

Centre-back: Joël Matip

“The legend. One of a kind. I love the man,” said Virgil van Dijk when he turned up to a Liverpool FC kit photoshoot wearing a t-shirt with Joël Matip’s face emblazoned across the front. A cult-hero with LFC supporters thanks to some of his quirky facial expressions and reactions to events that happen on the pitch, Matip is hugely popular in the dressing-room and has also been a mighty fine defender since arriving from FC Schalke 04 in 2016. He has also scored at least once in all seven of his seasons on Merseyside and just to add to his cult status Joël’s only assist in the UEFA Champions League was for Divock Origi to score in the 2019 final win against Spurs in Madrid. We love the man too, Virgil.

Defensive midfielder: Fabinho

Liverpool FC’s ‘lighthouse’ arrived from AS Monaco in the summer of 2018 and has established himself as one of the best defensive midfielders in the business. By Fabinho’s own admission last season wasn’t his most consistent - “We are humans, we are not machines who can always play the same way and the same level,” - but he was back to his best during the run-in and the Reds have won 139 of the 219 games the Brazilian international has played in. Fab is also a UEFA Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup, UEFA Super Cup and FA Community Shield winner (he missed the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup through injury) and does a brilliant Scouse accent. He’s the first name on our teamsheet for that alone.

Right central midfielder: Gary McAllister

Seems like a good time to name a Liverpool FC team with a McAllister in midfield, right? But Gary McAllister is fully deserving of his place in this starting XI having been widely regarded as the Reds’ greatest free transfer signing under the Bosman Ruling until James Milner came along. Gary Mac was 35 when Gérard Houllier signed him in 2000 - which would cause a Twitter meltdown these days - but proved to be an inspirational capture as his experience, class and ability from set-pieces proved pivotal in Liverpool FC winning a unique treble of League Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Cup, and qualifying for the UEFA Champions League for the first time, in 2000/01. He also scored probably the most famous Merseyside derby goal of all at Goodison Park.

Left central midfielder: Adam Lallana

If Naby Keita is reading this then soz Naby lad, but despite winning five major honours with LFC and scoring our quickest goal in Premier League history (after 15 seconds against Huddersfield Town FC) we had a decision to make and Adam Lallana has got the nod. Signed from Southampton FC in 2014, Lallana’s work-rate, technical ability, goals from midfield and creativity made him exactly the type of player Jürgen Klopp loves. He became a key member of the team and set standards on the training pitch back in the Melwood days. Lallana also scored 22 goals - not least his late equaliser at Manchester United FC in Liverpool FC’s Premier League-winning season - and contributed 21 assists in 178 games while also winning four major trophies as a Red.

Right forward: Ben Doak

Danny Ings and Dominic Solanke continue to make their goalscoring marks in the Premier League and Florent Sinama-Pongolle’s place in Liverpool FC history is secured just for his assist and goal in the sensational Olympiacos UEFA Champions League game at Anfield in 2004, but we’ve got an eye on the future and that means a place for Ben Doak. The 17-year-old Scottish forward only completed a move from Celtic FC last summer but is arguably the quickest teenager in the Reds’ ranks since Michael Owen burst onto the scene in 1997 and has already made five substitute appearances for the first-team. Pacy, direct and with a shoot-on-sight policy, Doak excited LFC fans on his debut against Derby County FC at Anfield and has the potential to be something special.

Centre forward: Djibril Cissé

With his unique taste in fashion, DJ skills and status as the Lord of the Manor of Frodsham following a property purchase, French striker Djibril Cisse was quite a character. He was also one of the fastest forwards around, but suffered terrible luck in just his 15th game for Liverpool FC when he fractured his left tibia and fibula. The injury was so serious it could have been career threatening, but Cissé made a staggering recovery to return to action in April 2005. A month later he came on and scored in the UEFA Champions League penalty shoot-out success against AC Milan. His double also won the Reds a UEFA Super Cup in Monaco against PFC CSKA Moscow and Cissé scored his 24th goal in his 79th and final appearance as LFC beat West Ham United FC in the 2006 FA Cup final.

Left forward: Craig Bellamy

The fiery Welsh striker had two spells at Liverpool FC with his first one beginning on July 1st 2006 following a move from Blackburn Rovers. Craig Bellamy’s ability to run with the ball at pace and his aggressive style made him a dangerous opponent and his nine goals that season included one against FC Barcelona as Rafa Benítez’s Reds beat the Catalan giants 2-1 at Camp Nou in the UEFA Champions League. Unfortunately that game was preceded by an infamous incident involving Bellamy, John Arne Riise and a golf club in a Portuguese hotel. He left at the end of the season only to be re-signed by Sir Kenny Dalglish in 2011 and help the Reds to win a League Cup. Bellamy is also a lifelong Liverpool FC fan and it’s always good to have a Red in your team.

PICK YOUR OWN XI

So what do you think? Agree with our July 1st LFC XI? Outraged that Markus Babbel and Naby Keita missed out? Or maybe you’d find a way to get French gems Anthony Le Tallec and Flo-Po into your team.

Have fun picking your own XI and we’ll leave you with a random July 1st fact: Before 1999, only one player signed for Liverpool FC on 1st July - defender John Holmes in 1895. So just a 104-year wait for Erik Meijer to become the second!