Graeme James Souness (; born 6 May 1953) is a Scottish former professional football player, manager and television pundit. A midfielder, Souness achieved his greatest period of success as an integral part of the Liverpool team of the late 1970s and early 1980s.
As a player, Souness established himself at Middlesbrough, where he played for six years, before moving to Liverpool in 1978. During his seven seasons at Anfield he won five league titles and three European Cups. He was named in the PFA Team of the Year every season between 1981 and 1984. Described by The Guardian as "the driving force of an all conquering side", Souness was captain at Liverpool between 1982 and 1984. In 2026 he was ranked the club's sixth greatest ever player in an official Liverpool F.C. poll. His Liverpool teammate Mark Lawrenson, who in 2015 ranked Souness fourth in his top 10 Anfield greats, called him "a great leader of men". He moved to Sampdoria in 1984 and won the Coppa Italia the following season, and then became player-manager for Rangers, leading the club to three Scottish titles and four league cups. His final game as a player came in the closing minutes of Rangers' final match of the 1989–90 season, which was his only appearance of the season.
Souness continued as Rangers coach for a further year before joining Liverpool as manager for the 1991–92 English First Division season. Winning the FA Cup in 1992, his time as manager of Liverpool did not come close to matching his success as a player at the club, and after two substandard seasons he resigned in 1994 before he went on to have spells at Galatasaray, Southampton, Torino, Benfica, Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United.
At international level, Souness gained 54 caps for Scotland, captaining the team on 27 occasions.
Club career Early career Graeme James Souness was born on 6 May 1953 in Edinburgh, Scotland, and was brought up in the Saughton Mains area of the city. He supported local side Heart of Midlothian and Glasgow-based Rangers. As a teenager, Souness played for local boys' club North Merchiston.
Souness' career began as an apprentice at Tottenham Hotspur under Bill Nicholson. He signed professional forms as a 15-year-old in 1968. Frustrated at a lack of first-team opportunities, the teenage Souness told Nicholson he should be selected for the first team. Souness made one first-team appearance for Spurs, in a UEFA Cup tie as a substitute.
During the summer of 1972, Souness played in the North American Soccer League for the Montreal Olympique. He appeared in 10 of his team's 14 matches and was named in the league's All-Star team for that season.
Middlesbrough Spurs sold Souness to Middlesbrough for £30,000 in 1972. He made his first appearance for Middlesbrough on 6 January 1973 in a 2–1 league defeat to Fulham at Craven Cottage. His first goal came on 11 December 1973 in a 3–0 league victory over Preston North End at Ayresome Park.
Souness' tenacious style began to garner acclaim during his time at Middlesbrough. His first season saw Middlesbrough finish fourth, two places and 14 points short of promotion. Jack Charlton was appointed Middlesbrough manager, his first managerial post, in May 1973. One of Charlton's first signings was experienced former Celtic midfielder Bobby Murdoch, a fellow Scot whom Souness later cited as an important influence in the development of his playing style. Promotion as champions of the Second Division followed in 1973–74. Souness' influence was demonstrated when he scored a hat-trick in the season's final fixture, an 8–0 victory over Sheffield Wednesday, and he was subsequently named the club's player of the year.
Liverpool
Souness' playing career is best remembered for his seven seasons at Liverpool, where he won five League Championships, three European Cups and four League Cups, and spent the last three seasons as captain. His time at Anfield began in January 1978 as a replacement for veteran Ian Callaghan. After winning his first European Cup in 1977, Liverpool manager Bob Paisley sought reinforcements by signing three Scottish players, all of whom were to contribute substantially to further success. Central defender Alan Hansen arrived from Partick Thistle for £110,000. Kenny Dalglish – an established Scottish international – signed from Celtic for a then British record fee of £440,000. Souness formed the final part of the Scottish triumvirate, leaving Middlesbrough in acrimonious circumstances for a club-record fee of £350,000 on 10 January 1978.lfchistory.net Player Profile
Souness' Liverpool debut came in a 1–0 league victory over West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns on 14 January 1978. His first goal – a volley from just inside the penalty box, eventually awarded fans' goal of the season – came in a 3–1 win over rivals Manchester United at Anfield on 25 February 1978. Souness played a pivotal role in Liverpool's retention of the European Cup against FC Bruges in 1978 at Wembley Stadium, providing the pass for Kenny Dalglish to score the match's only goal. Souness's first League title medals were won in seasons 1978–79 and 1979–80. A second European Cup medal for Souness arrived in 1981 with a 1–0 victory over Real Madrid – the culmination of a campaign in which Souness scored a hat-trick in the quarter-final against CSKA Sofia.
This burst of success prompted Paisley to award Souness the club captaincy for season 1981–82, to the chagrin of the incumbent Phil Thompson who had made some errors that season and with whom Paisley had a vicious row during one match at Aston Villa. Thompson initially refused to speak to Souness, claiming he had "stolen the captaincy" from behind his back. This was the start of several long-running feuds between the two robust characters, and over the coming years, they would confront each other in various circumstances.
Under Souness' captaincy, two trophies followed as Liverpool regained the League championship and retained the League Cup, trophies that were successfully defended in season 1982–83. For the trophy award presentation after the 2–1 win over Manchester United in 1983, Souness stepped back and insisted that Paisley collect the trophy in the manager's retirement season. The appointment of Joe Fagan as Paisley's successor followed, and in pre-season Souness called a meeting among the players. According to teammate Mark Lawrenson, Souness said: "We think the world of this fella and this year we are absolutely determined to be successful for him.' To a man everyone said: 'Yep, you're right.'"
In 1983–84, Souness lifted three trophies. He scored the winning goal in the 1984 League Cup final replay at Maine Road against Merseyside rivals Everton, the first all-Merseyside cup final. Liverpool won the league for the third consecutive season and reached the 1984 European Cup final after beating Romanian champions Dinamo București in the semi-final 3–1 on aggregate. In an ill-tempered first leg at Anfield, Souness broke the jaw of Dinamo captain Lică Movilă, which went unpunished by the referee. Liverpool won the 1984 final after a penalty shoot-out win over Roma, with Souness scoring one of the penalties in the shootout. Souness' Liverpool career ended in 1984 after 358 appearances and 56 goals.
In 1984, Souness was named in the PFA Team of the Year for the fourth season running and came sixth for the 1984 Ballon d'Or. Regarded as one of the greatest ever Liverpool players, ranking sixth in a club poll in 2026 with the former captain also widely named in any all-time Liverpool XI, Daniel Taylor in The Guardian writes:
Sampdoria In 1984, Souness joined Sampdoria for a fee of £650,000. In doing so he became the third Scot to play in the Italian Football Championship since its re-brand to Serie A in 1929. In doing so he succeeded Denis Law and Joe Jordan"Scottish Players and Coaches in Italy" rsssf.org, Last updated 9 July 2001, Davide Rota (Law's Scots-raised Torino teammate Joe Baker spent the first six weeks of his life in Liverpool and was thus deemed English under international football rules of the time). Souness and England international Trevor Francis–a player at the Genoa-based club since 1982–added experience to an emerging group of future Italian internationals, including Roberto Mancini, Pietro Vierchowod and Gianluca Vialli.
In his first season, Souness succeeded Jordan to become the second Scot to play in a Coppa Italia final. Souness, in contrast to Jordan, collected a winner's medal. Sampdoria won the 1985 Coppa Italia Final 3–1 on aggregate over Serie A rivals Milan, securing the cup for the first time in club history. Souness scored the only goal of the game in the away first leg of the final.
Rangers Souness' career in Italy ended in 1986 as he took up the position of player-manager at Rangers. His playing career at Ibrox began inauspiciously. His competitive debut – in the opening match of the 1986–87 season, against Hibernian in his hometown of Edinburgh – saw him sent off after two yellow cards in the first 34 minutes, with the second following a high challenge on Hibernian striker George McCluskey which left a gash on his leg.
Disciplinary problems – something that had recurred periodically throughout Souness's career – resurfaced on a number of occasions during his time as a player at Rangers, and the spell was also blighted by injury. He made 73 appearances in total for Rangers (50 in the league), scoring three goals. His final appearance as a player was at Ibrox in a 2–0 victory over Dunfermline Athletic in Rangers' last home match of the 1989–90 season, when he brought himself on for the final 20 minutes.
International career While a Middlesbrough player, Souness received his first international cap for Scotland on 30 October 1974 in a 3–0 friendly victory over East Germany at Hampden Park. By the time Souness was selected by manager Ally McLeod for the Scotland squad for the 1978 FIFA World Cup in Argentina, he had been awarded only six caps. His move to Liverpool increased his profile. Souness missed Scotland's first two matches, a defeat to Peru and a draw with Iran, due to injury. He was selected for the final group match against the Netherlands. Souness contributed to a 3–2 victory that nevertheless saw Scotland eliminated from the tournament on goal difference.
Souness played in two further World Cups. The first, in 1982 in Spain, saw Souness play all three group stage matches. His first international goal arrived in the final game prior to elimination, a 2–2 draw with the Soviet Union in Málaga.
A final World Cup appearance came in 1986 in Mexico, at a time when Souness had already been appointed Rangers player-manager. Souness played in defeats to Denmark and West Germany. He later said he had performed poorly in those matches, having struggled with the high altitude and losing a significant amount of weight and power. Souness was omitted by caretaker manager Alex Ferguson for Scotland's final match against Uruguay. Souness claimed in his autobiography, The Management Years, and press interviews that this was the only time in his whole career he had been dropped. Souness also stated Ferguson was unusually apologetic and was very respectful and diplomatic in his conversation with Souness at night when he broke the news to him, as he held Souness in high regard. His international career ended after the 1986 World Cup. He had made 54 appearances in almost 12 years, scoring four goals.
Coaching and managerial career
Rangers