Among the players pictured at the gathering on Saturday were Phil Thompson, Kenny Dalglish, Alan Hansen and Sammy Lee
Liverpool Legends - (Standing L-R) Neil Mellor, Tony Warner, David Fairclough, Martin Kelly, Mark Wright, Mark Walters, John Aldridge, Stephen Wright, John Barnes, Robbie Fowler, Michael Thomas, Steve McManaman, John Durnin, Steve McMahon and Howard Gayke
Liverpool Legends - (Standing L-R) Neil Mellor, Tony Warner, David Fairclough, Martin Kelly, Mark Wright, Mark Walters, John Aldridge, Stephen Wright, John Barnes, Robbie Fowler, Michael Thomas, Steve McManaman, John Durnin, Steve McMahon and Howard Gayke
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Some of the greatest ever to pull on a Liverpool shirt enjoyed a festive gathering over the weekend. The annual tradition has been ongoing for over a decade now and each year the number of former players joining the meet up seems to increase.
Pictures from the evening were shared on social media by some of the former Reds. John Barnes, who earned a legend status for his ability to glide down the wing, shared a group photo to Instagram, he captioned it: "Our Liverpool Legends meet up for an annual Christmas drink. Great turn out Merry Christmas everyone. Our best wishes and speedy recovery to our great friend Ian [Rush]."
Among the Liverpool legends in attendance were: Neil Mellor, Tony Warner, David Fairclough, Martin Kelly, Mark Wright, Mark Walters, John Aldridge, Stephen Wright, John Barnes, Robbie Fowler, Michael Thomas, Steve McManaman, John Durnin, Steve McMahon and Howard Gayke.
Liverpool legends gathered for an annual festive tipple
Liverpool legends gathered for an annual festive tipple
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Other ex-players joining in on the festive tipple were Phil Thompson, Kenny Dalglish, Alan Hansen and Sammy Lee. Former Liverpool striker Ian Rush spent 48 hours in intensive care last week after being taken to Countess of Chester hospital.
Rush, who is Liverpool's all-time leading goalscorer, is an ambassador at Anfield. He scored 346 goals across all competitions during his time with the Reds. A Liverpool spokesperson thanked staff at the hospital for "providing the best care possible" and said "everyone at Liverpool wishes him a speedy recovery."
John Aldridge, who only appeared for Liveprool 104 times, became a legend of the club and is considered one of the best goalscorers to have played at Anfield. He labelled the outing as the "LFC boys Christmas do" and called it a "great" day. Steve McManaman posted: "It was great to get together with this bunch of young fellows."
Robbie Fowler was also embracing the Christmas spirit as he reposted a picture of the former players in the lobby of the Hilton. He played Mariah Carey's 'All I want for Christmas is you' as a background song.
Liverpool legends gathering for a Christmas drink
Liverpool legends gathering for a Christmas drink (Image: John.Barnes Instagram)
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Fans commented on the player reunion as Barnes challenged people to name every player pictured. One comment on Instagram said: "Imagine the stories told at this dinner" and another wrote "Some of the legends that made LFC the most successful football club, some great memories stirred, travelling everywhere watching them and seeing them all together like this [thumbs up emoji]."
Other comments included: "Not even a Liverpool fan but that’s great to see. Some proper legends" and "Sad that Ian isn't there with all of you. Hopefully, you'll have another get together once he's better. Good to see Alan looking well. Lovely legendary Christmas."
A fan was thankful to those on the picture, as he wrote: "You lot gave me the best childhood I could ever have had and Christmas really was the most wonderful time of the year. From Thommo and Callaghan onwards thanks for the memories."