Which Liverpool Players have Euro and World Cup Winners’ Medals?

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Did you know, there are many players in the history of Liverpool who have achieved greatness at European Championships and World Cups, but very few have managed to land both winners’ medals.
Liverpool is one of the most decorated football clubs on the planet, let alone English football. With a proud tradition of developing and recruiting some of the best footballing talent in the world, you might be surprised to find there’s a select club of players who have achieved greatness at continental and world level for their countries.
There are plenty of Liverpool players who have gone on to win the World Cup. This includes England’s 1966 World Cup-winning players, Roger Hunt, Ian Callaghan and Gerry Byrne. German striker Karl-Heinz Reidle was also part of the West Germany squad who won the 1990 World Cup. French winger, Bernard Diomede, played three times at the 1998 World Cup for the French side who became world champions on home soil.
Below, we’ll shine the spotlight firmly on this distinguished group of ex-Liverpool stars who have the honour of being crowned European champions as well as World champions.

Xabi Alonso

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Alonso was snapped up by the Reds in 2004 from Real Sociedad. During his five-year spell with Liverpool, Alonso racked up 143 appearances, scoring 15 goals from a deep-lying playmaker role. The year before his exit from Anfield, Alonso was an integral part of Spain’s Euro 2008-winning squad.
Alonso was skipper of the team in their final Euro 2008 group game, bagging the man-of-the-match award in a win over Greece. He would go on to appear in four of La Roja’s six Euro 2008 fixtures, helping the team to an historic title.
Two years later, Alonso remained part of the Spain squad at the FIFA World Cup. He’d left Liverpool to join Real Madrid at this stage. Alonso played every minute in the knockout stages to help Spain to their maiden World Cup success. This was a golden era for Spain and Alonso. He was still at Real when he helped Spain to defend their European title to win Euro 2012.
Spain are one of the contenders to win a fourth European Championship at Euro 2024. After the group stage, La Roja were priced as 5.50 joint-second favourites with hosts, Germany, in the bet365 Euro betting markets to lift the trophy.

Fernando Torres

Fernando Torres signed on the dotted line for Liverpool in 2007, leaving his beloved boyhood club, Atletico Madrid. Torres became an instant fan favourite and at the end of his first season with the Reds he was part of Spain’s Euro 2008 triumph. Torres bagged the winning goal in the Euro 2008 Final against Germany, etching his name into Spanish footballing folklore forever.
At the start of the 2009/10 season, Liverpool sealed a contract extension for Torres after bagging 14 goals in 24 appearances at Anfield. He was even more prolific in 2009/10, notching 18 goals in 22 appearances. It was a stop-start campaign for Torres due to injury niggles and he didn’t go into the 2010 World Cup in full fitness.
Nevertheless, he was still part of the squad which overcame the Dutch in the FIFA World Cup Final after extra time. Iniesta’s 116th-minute winner broke the Netherlands’ hearts in Johannesburg.

Thiago Alcantara

Thiago joined the Reds in 2020 after a successful seven-year spell with German giants, Bayern Munich. The midfield maestro was part of Spain’s 2010 FIFA World Cup squad, although he only played a bit-part role in South Africa. Despite being on the periphery, Thiago still goes down as part of Spain’s first World Cup winners.
Two years later, Thiago was once again selected in Spain’s preliminary Euro 2012 squad. However, Thiago suffered injury heartache when he sustained an injury which would force him out for the entire summer, missing both Euro 2012 and the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. It was a similar story for Thiago at international level in 2014, when a knee ligament injury robbed him of the chance to represent Spain at the next FIFA World Cup.
We should also pay homage to Brazilian midfielder, Fabinho, who achieved a similar feat by landing the Copa America in 2019 with Brazil three years after landing Olympic gold with his compatriots in Rio de Janeiro.

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Written by Alan Spencer