Ekitike’s Dream XI snubs Messi and Ronaldo – but packs four Liverpool icons
Hugo Ekitike doesn’t do half measures. The Liverpool forward has fired in four goals from six since his £69 million switch from Eintracht Frankfurt and is already jostling to keep his spot ahead of record signing Alexander Isak. But it’s his off-pitch choices grabbing the mic this week: a dream XI revealed via Stan Sport that leaves out both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, while cramming in four Liverpool greats. Peak box-office stuff.
Red-hot form, red card drama
Fresh from Liverpool’s 2-1 Carabao Cup victory over Southampton, Ekitike channelled Messi’s famous shirt-hold celebration – and promptly walked for a second booking after forgetting he’d already been cautioned. The fallout? A two-week wages fine and a short spell on the naughty step. It won’t dull the noise around him, mind. If anything, it’s added to the theatre.
Between the sticks and at the back
In goal, Ekitike goes for Alisson – the game’s gold standard, and the man who’s turned nervous moments at Anfield into routine saves. Ahead of him sits Virgil van Dijk, an era-defining centre-half and Liverpool’s defensive metronome. Completing the core is Sergio Ramos, the Champions League’s ultimate bruiser–match-winner, with 17 goals in 142 appearances and four European crowns, plus a mountain of individual honours including 11 FIFPRO World11 selections (ten on the spin from 2010 to 2020), two Champions League Defender of the Year awards and nine UEFA Team of the Year nods. The full-back slots? Dani Alves on the right and Marcelo on the left – two samba-tuned trophies machines, with Alves’s eye-watering haul of 43 titles and Marcelo standing as Real Madrid’s most decorated player. No arguments there.
Midfield muscle and magic
Steven Gerrard is the heartbeat – intensity, leadership, and a taste for the spectacular that dragged Liverpool to improbable nights, not least that comeback in Istanbul. Alongside him, Zinedine Zidane, the artist who did it all: World Cup winner, European champion, Ballon d’Or in 1998. Completing the trio is Yaya Toure, the Premier League’s ultimate power-playmaker – gliding runs, rockets from range, and the swagger that helped set the tone for Manchester City’s rise under Pep Guardiola.
A front three with bite
Here’s where the eyebrows shoot up. Mohamed Salah gets the nod – ahead of both Messi and Ronaldo – with the Egyptian’s longevity and output in England touted as his trump card. At 33, he’s still churning out elite numbers, including that whopper of a campaign last season when he posted a league-record 47 goal involvements in 38 games. Thierry Henry joins him, the showman who changed the Premier League’s vocabulary from the moment he landed in 1999: two titles, four Golden Boots, and 175 goals. The third slot goes to Samuel Eto’o – all menace and movement – a serial winner who’s been right up there for goals and assists since 2000, even if the spotlight often drifts toward Suarez, Benzema or Lewandowski.
The XI in full
Alisson; Dani Alves, Sergio Ramos, Virgil van Dijk, Marcelo; Steven Gerrard, Zinedine Zidane, Yaya Toure; Mohamed Salah, Thierry Henry, Samuel Eto’o.
What this tells us about Ekitike
Strip it back and you see a forward leaning into a winning identity: leaders, serial trophy collectors, and match-turners. It’s also a love letter to Liverpool’s spine – past and present – and a subtle message about the standards he’s chasing at Anfield. Debate it all you like – and if you must keep score, the arguments rage on across the best betting sites – but Ekitike’s choices scream conviction more than controversy.
All statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt (correct as of 26/09/2025).
