No player has pulled on a Liverpool shirt more times than Ian Callaghan.
The former Reds midfielder’s record of 857 appearances for has stood as the club record for almost 50 years and is very likely to last another 50.
Yet the man who is synonymous with the club very nearly began his career across Stanley Park at their fiercest rivals.
Callaghan on going against his family at Liverpool
So even after all of these years, what does the title of Liverpool’s club record appearance holder mean to him?
“It means a lot, being a local lad,” he tells FourFourTwo. “It’s not just the appearances, it’s what we achieved during that time.
“The first time a club wins a trophy, it means so much. I remember in 1965, winning the FA Cup for the first time was just unbelievable, then to do it again 12 years later to win the European Cup for the first time was a big highlight too.
“I started out as a 15-year-old lad who had the chance to go to either Everton or Liverpool and my dad, who was an Evertonian, said, “You’re going to Everton, aren’t you?”
“At the time, Everton were a First Division club and Liverpool were in the Second Division, not going anywhere, so I could never have imagined what choosing Liverpool would lead to.”
So what was it that made him go against his father’s wishes and choose the Red side of the Merseyside divide?
“I’d been to watch Liverpool when I was 13 and they had a Scottish player called Billy Little, who was an absolute legend,” he recalls. “They used to call them ‘Littlepool’, he was that good.
“I remember being in the boys’ pen in the stands and whenever Little got the ball, the excitement was unbelievable.
“So when I had to decide between the two clubs, I told my dad I wanted to sign for Liverpool instead of Everton.
“ I’m glad I stuck to my guns and think I made the right choice.”
