Jamie Vardy spent years tormenting Liverpool, so it carries extra weight when he admits Anfield got to him. The 39-year-old Leicester City legend said so on his own podcast, The Vardy Party with Soccer AM legend Tubes. Vardy scored 10 goals in 18 games against Liverpool, including a 35-yard volley at the King Power Stadium. He also silenced the Anfield crowd on several occasions. Yet, by his own account, the noise there once had him doing something very unexpected for an opposition striker.
Vardy explained that Anfield crowds are full on. When the home fans start singing You’ll Never Walk Alone before kick-off, he said, it is so loud that he joins in:
“I find myself joining in”
He described walking out, getting himself in order, catching himself singing along, and then telling himself “the atmosphere’s insane here”, using stronger language. In the podcast clip, he says he joined the singing without even thinking about which side he was on. A fan post picking up the story said even Vardy gets caught up in the noise at Anfield.
Vardy was clear that the noise never overawed him, at Anfield or any other ground. He said that a player who ever reached the stage of not liking it should ask to be replaced, because it would be better for the team. Instead, he said, you have to put all that to the back of your head and get on with it. That mentality is why Liverpool found him so awkward to contain, according to one report. It is also what makes his admission of being swept up in the singing so striking.
Vardy is far from the first to say it, and the list of players and managers who have praised Anfield’s atmosphere is long. Pep Guardiola said City were “involved in the environment of Anfield” after their first league defeat of the 2017-18 season there, and later called it a “bugger of a ground”. Sir Alex Ferguson called it a marvellous and electric atmosphere that you have to expect even when you are losing. Thierry Henry said there is nothing like playing at Liverpool, and loved the fans holding up their scarves before and after games. Kevin De Bruyne said he loves the noise and passion, and that even when it is against you, you feel at the top of the world.
Johan Cruyff said he stood on the pitch at Anfield with goosebumps during Ajax’s 1966 European Cup tie, and that the atmosphere made him want to play in England. Carlo Ancelotti has said each time he returns it is special because of the atmosphere. Alvaro Arbeloa said it is hard to explain and that every player should experience it once. Xavi said he was speechless when Anfield applauded his Barcelona side throughout a Champions League game in 2001. Diego Maradona said Liverpool supporters kept singing at half-time in Istanbul in 2005 when their team was 3-0 down, and called their support unconditional.
Rivals have been just as awed. Before the 2019 Champions League final, Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger both marvelled at Liverpool fans singing You’ll Never Walk Alone, with Mourinho calling it more beautiful than words and Wenger calling it unique. Mourinho also said he felt the power of Anfield after Chelsea’s 2005 semi-final, a night John Terry called the best atmosphere he had played in. Etienne Capoue, after Villarreal lost at Anfield in 2022, called it “hell” and the worst stadium he had been to in England. Steven Gerrard, watching as a fan and former player, called the 2019 Barcelona night probably the best atmosphere he had seen at Anfield.
Klopp himself made the case in March 2024, ahead of Liverpool’s game with Manchester City. Asked about the atmosphere, he joked about whether people would be offended if he called it “second to none”. He also called it good, massive and energising, and said Anfield is a massive factor for Liverpool.
New Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola, who knows Anfield from the opposing dugout, said at his first press conference that you can “feel this stadium” at its best. After this season’s Champions League win over Atletico Madrid, he said “the atmosphere was incredible” and that he felt fortunate to experience it.
Few stories sum up the aura better than Mikel Arteta’s preparation for Anfield. As a player, he said he once felt overwhelmed there, adding “I only had that feeling in my career once, and it was at Anfield.” As Arsenal manager in 2021, he brought speakers to training to play You’ll Never Walk Alone before a trip to Anfield, as shown in Amazon’s All or Nothing: Arsenal. Arsenal lost 4-0. One fan post recalling the story said you can prepare for the noise but not for Klopp’s Liverpool at their best, and ended with nostalgia, saying those were different times and that they miss Jürgen Klopp.
Not everyone buys the Anfield legend, and the word “myth” has become a favourite of rival fans. After Arsenal beat Real Madrid 3-0 in the first leg of their 2025 Champions League quarter-final, one Arsenal fan declared that the Anfield atmosphere had “become a myth” and that Real Madrid’s players were swallowed by the Emirates atmosphere. Mikel Arteta said the atmosphere his fans created 15 minutes before kick-off was something he hadn’t seen before, while Carlo Ancelotti’s verdict was that Arsenal showed a better attitude and more quality. A Liverpool fan answered by quoting the “Anfield atmosphere is a myth” line and sharing a 23-second clip described as a Real Madrid supporter’s view from inside Anfield. The clip shows a packed, floodlit stand, and its on-screen caption talks about fulfilling the dream of experiencing it live.
Another example came when Manchester United visited Anfield in December 2023 and drew 0-0. Asked afterwards about the intimidating atmosphere, goalkeeper André Onana replied: “I felt nothing.” Gary Neville, a former United captain working for Sky Sports, said it was the quietest crowd he had seen for that fixture, despite the biggest attendance at Anfield in decades, and suggested complacency after last season’s 7-0 win may have played a part. Roy Keane, also on Sky Sports, accused Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk of arrogance for saying only Liverpool tried to win. One fan post used Keane’s words to argue that arrogance and complacency were rife among Liverpool’s players and fans that day.
The debate is not only between Liverpool and its rivals. Klopp himself said in December 2023, after a 5-1 Carabao Cup win over West Ham, that he was not overly happy with the atmosphere behind him, and urged fans to give their tickets away if they were not in the right shape for Arsenal’s visit. This season, BBC Radio Merseyside’s Paul Salt said after Liverpool’s 0-0 draw with Fulham that he felt the atmosphere was not helping in the early league games. Iraola said he hasn’t felt that pressure, and that if the team pushes, the people will be with them. At the same time, a Bournemouth fan said in August 2025 it was the loudest he had ever heard Anfield, dispelling the idea that it only roars for big games, and fan polls in 2023 and 2024 voted it the best atmosphere in the Premier League.
So is the Anfield atmosphere a myth? The evidence suggests it depends on the night, as even its biggest defenders admit it can go quiet. But when it is at its best, players and managers from every corner of the game keep describing it the same way. Vardy, who spent years trying to silence it, has now said it was loud enough to make him sing along. With Manchester City visiting on 11 October, the next test of the legend is not far away.
