Signing for one of the big English clubs like Liverpool marks a huge step in the career of many footballers. Although new recruits will be thinking about the prospect of playing in front of a packed Anfield crowd, they cannot focus solely on the football. Moving to a new club, a new city and perhaps even a new country poses its own challenges. One of the most important questions that every player needs to answer is, where are they going to live?
For first-team players, due to their large salaries, they will naturally look towards the more affluent parts of the city and the surrounding areas. Another factor in their decision will be, where their new teammates live. When moving to an unfamiliar area it is a sensible idea for new signings to be surrounded by their teammates in order to help them settle in. So, rather than being spaced out around city, you tend to find Liverpool players living in a handful of clusters.
Which Areas Do Liverpool Players Tend to Pick?
Perhaps the most well-known area of residence for Liverpool players is the town of Formby, located just north of the city. Among its several benefits is the fact that it is reasonably close to the club’s main training ground in Kirkby. Anyone living in Formby will be at the training group in around 25 minutes and avoid any major traffic. Closer to the city centre in suburbs, such as Mossley Hill and neighbouring Allerton and Woolton, have been popular picks.
You can also find some Liverpool players that do not mind the longer commute from Cheshire, in places such as Alderley Edge and Wilmslow. These are more commonly locations for players of Manchester City or Manchester United but they are well connected to Liverpool’s training ground thanks to nearby motorways.
Why Do So Many Players Live in Formby?
Formby has, rather famously, long been the location where many Liverpool players and managers choose to live. The quiet coastal town certainly offers a contrast to the hustle and bustle of the Liverpool city centre. As well as a large nature reserve and golf course, Formby’s beach offers golden sands and views of the Irish Sea. More importantly, it is also a place with some extremely large and private houses. You can view many of these down Victoria Road, a street on which the average house price is more than £2m.
Jürgen Klopp has publicly praised Formby in the past. Speaking back in 2016 he said, “Everything is better than we could have imagined and living on Merseyside, Formby close to the sea, is much better than I could have imagined before”. He also added, “When you think about England from Germany you think it rains 364-and-a-half days a year! It’s not like this, so all good.”
It is a safe assumption that the German’s positive opinion of Formby must be shared by some of his players. Much like former Liverpool skipper, Steven Gerrard, Jordan Henderson also moved to the area following his switch from Sunderland in 2011. He was later joined by several teammates, including Andrew Robertson and Adam Lallana.
The list of Liverpool players to have spent all, or at least some of their Liverpool days in Formby is almost too long to list. To give you some more examples though of long-gone players we can give you names, such as Sami Hyypia, Mario Balotelli, Andy Carroll and Fabio Borini. The coastal town’s appeal is nothing relatively new either, as Liverpool players from the 1970s like Ray Clemence and John Toshack also lived in the area.
Why Do Players Live South of Liverpool?
Although a little less popular now due to Liverpool moving their training ground north from Melwood to Kirkby, some players choose to have their base just a few miles south of Liverpool. There is a cluster of well-off suburbs here, namely Allerton, Mossley Hill, Calderstones and Woolton. All of these areas have average house prices well over £300,000 (for Calderstones it is close to £500k) and even the lower figure is roughly 50% more than the Liverpool average. While there are a lot of modest houses in the region, there are some luxurious options to choose from as well. The map below shows all properties for sale (or sold subject to contract) at the time of writing, with an asking price of £800,000+.
Roberto Firmino resides (or at least used to) in Mossley Hill, while Sadio Mane lived in Allerton in a £2m house before his move to Bayern Munich. There is also one luxury home in Woolton with rent, costing £6,000 a month, that has been frequently selected as a short-term abode for Liverpool and Everton players. Woolton has also been a popular pick among some former Brazilian players, as well as providing a base for fan favourite, Dirk Kuyt.
Why Do Liverpool Players Live in Cheshire?
There is an area in Cheshire known as the golden triangle, the three points of the triangle being Alderley Edge, Prestbury and Wilmslow. These three affluent towns and surrounding wealthy villages have enjoyed a high concentration of professional footballers for many years. Part of the reason for this is the sheer quantity of extremely spacious and private housing. Five of the 10 most expensive roads in the whole of North West England belong in this small triangle. One of these, Withinlee Road, about a mile west of Presbury, have seen an average price well over £3m in recent years.
Directly south of Manchester, it is an extremely popular choice for anyone playing for the red or blue half of the city. While typically you will find Man City or Man United names within the triangle, it is a place that is no stranger to Liverpool players. To name a few Reds players that have spent some time in Cheshire, you have the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk, Jordan Henderson and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
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