Liverpool players who were boyhood Everton fans

Referred to as the "friendly derby" due to the lack of fan segregation in previous fixtures and the general oneness in the city, the Merseyside derby is anything but friendly when Liverpool and Everton lock horns on matchday.

While younger football fans may view the rivalry as a one-sided matchup due to the Reds' dominance in more recent years, there was a period in the 1980s where the Merseyside outfits dominated English football, with one of Liverpool or Everton winning every top-flight campaign from 1981/82 to 1987/88.

The Toffees have been starved of silverware of late however, without a major honour since 1995, but they still relish the opportunity to get one over on their rivals who, until recently, were a mere 15-minute walk across Stanley Park.

Despite the animosity between the two fanbases, Anfield has been home to a number of Liverpool players who grew up supporting Everton.

Liverpool players who were boyhood Everton fans

Jamie Carragher

Jamie Carragher, who made 737 appearances for Liverpool, has never shied away from the fact that he was an Everton fan growing up, even recalling a moment where he celebrated a Toffees goal on the coach home from playing for the Reds' Reserves in 1996.

Carragher's middle names, "Lee" and "Duncan", were given to him in honour of former Everton manager Gordon Lee and former player Duncan McKenzie, but he revealed that his allegiances switched when being introduced to the Liverpool first team.

Ian Rush

Ian Rush, who revealed that he was an Everton supporter when growing up, proclaimed that when he was playing for Chester, former Everton boss Gordon Lee said that he wasn't good enough to play for the Toffees, and so three months later he signed for Liverpool.

The Welshman was destined to get his revenge against his boyhood club, and he did so emphatically, scoring more goals, 25, than any other player in the history of the Merseyside Derby.

Robbie Fowler

While it took Carragher until he started playing for the first team to stop supporting Everton, Robbie Fowler revealed that he made the contentious decision to switch allegiances at a much younger age.

He said: "When I was very young I used to watch Everton but I was at Liverpool when I was 11 years old – I’ve been a Liverpool fan from then on.”

Steve McManaman

While Steve McManaman played 364 games for the Reds, winning the FA Cup in 1992 and League Cup in 1995, he only ever had ambitions to play for Everton as a child.

In fact, he went as far as to say that he was "desperate to sign for Everton" as a youngster, but, as was the case with Rush, the Toffees weren't as forthcoming as the Reds.

David Thompson

Birkenhead-born David Thompson made his Liverpool debut on 19th August 1996 in a 2–0 victory against Arsenal, despite being a boyhood Everton fan.

Thompson would go on to make just 56 appearances for the Reds and was even linked with a switch from Coventry City to Everton in the early 2000s.

Steve McMahon

Steve McMahon is among a number of brave players who played for both Everton and Liverpool, but he fulfilled his childhood dream first by representing the Toffees from 1979 to 1983.

After a two-year stint with Aston Villa, he joined the Reds, where he would make 270 appearances, win three league titles, two FA Cups and four Charity Shields.

Adam Lallana

Adam Lallana followed in the footsteps of his father and supported Everton as a youngster, before pledging his allegiance to the red half of Merseyside upon signing for the club in 2014.