Estonia's national team captain Ragnar Klavan was 30 years old when he joined Liverpool from Augsburg in the summer of 2016, signed by Jurgen Klopp to provide defensive cover after the departure of Martin Skrtel. He broke into his local side Viljandi at the age of 16 in 2002 and the following year joined Flora Tallinn, where he won the Estonian title.

After a brief loan spell with Norwegians Valerenga he joined Eredivise side Heracles Almelo in 2005 and moved four years later to AZ Alkmaar, where he won the Dutch title playing for Steve McClaren. Klavan moved to the Bundesliga to play for Augsburg in 2012 and played both legs of the Europa Cup tie between them and Liverpool in February 2016. His first appearance in a Reds shirt was against Chelsea in a friendly in Los Angeles on 27th July 2016, but it was anything but that when he was the subject of a two footed challenge by Cesc Fabregas but escaped  injury.

After impressing in pre season he took advantage of an injury to Joel Matip and was picked in the starting eleven for the opening league game away to Arsenal. Throughout the season Matip and Dejan Lovren was the first choice centre back pairing, but Klavan was dependable on the occasions he was called upon, putting in a fine performance at Goodison Park in December when Sadio Mane's late goal gave Liverpool a 1--0 win. Klavan made fifteen Premier League starts and also scored at Derby in the League Cup.

In 2017/18 Klavan remained a capable deputy when needed and on New Years Day became the first Estonian to score in the Premier League when he netted an injury time winner at Burnley. He made only twenty league appearances, some of them as a late substitute as the Reds protected a lead, and was surplus to requirements as Liverpool prepared for the 2018/19 season. Klavan moved to Cagliari in Seria A after Liverpool accepted a £2m offer for the defender. Problems with his Achilles tendon restricted him to fifteen appearances in his first season in Italy, but when fit he was a guaranteed starting place in the side and he went on to play 31 times in Serie A during 2019/20. The following season saw him have a prolonged absence due to Covid and he featured fifteen times before returning to Estonia and joining Paide Linnameeskond, winning the cup with them in 2022. 

In May 2023 Klavan delighted Reds fans when he was seen to be reading out the Estonian scores for Eurovision, which was being hosted by Liverpool on behalf of Ukraine That summer, at the age of 37 he joined JK Tallinna Kalevr, the club which he was president of, as a player. He made nine appearances and remained with them for 2024, but encountered thigh problems early in the season. He did return to fitness and to help the club avoid relegation via the play offs, before announcing his retirement from playing in December that year. In an emotional statement on Instagram he said  "At 13, my dream was to reach the top tier of English football and the Premier League. Yes - it took 17 years, but I achieved it and as a cherry on top, of course, playing for Liverpool.” He also shared his plans for the future, saying he would be running for the presidency of the Estonian FA in 2025.