Ian James Rush (born 20 October 1961) is a Welsh former professional footballer who played as a forward. He is regarded as one of the greatest strikers of all time and one of the greatest Welsh players ever. Rush played for Liverpool from 1980 to 1987 and 1988 to 1996. He is the club's all-time leading goalscorer, having scored 346 goals in all competitions. He also holds the records for being the highest goalscorer in the history of the EFL Cup and in FA Cup finals. At international level, Rush made 73 appearances for Wales and remained their record goalscorer with 28 goals, until 2018.
Known for his speed and clinical finishing, Rush is regarded as one of Liverpool's greatest ever players. In 2006 he came 3rd among Liverpool players in an official Liverpool fan poll, 100 Players Who Shook The Kop. Ranked the club's 3rd greatest player in another official poll in 2026, his defensive work from the front was also singled out, with the club stating "he was a relentless pressing machine all rolled into one iconic forward."
At Liverpool he won five English league championships, three FA Cups, five League Cups and two European Cups. He was also the PFA Players' Player of the Year, the FWA Footballer of the Year and received the European Golden Boot in 1984. Rush also had short spells with Chester, Juventus, Leeds United, Newcastle United, Sheffield United, Wrexham and Sydney Olympic. Since retiring as a player in 2000, Rush has had a stint as manager of Chester City (2004–05), and has worked as a television football pundit.
Born in St Asaph, Denbighshire, Rush's reputation was enhanced by scoring for Chester (later Chester City) in a 2–0 FA Cup third round win away to Second Division team Newcastle United in January 1980, with Chester equalling their best run by reaching the last 16 where they narrowly lost to Ipswich Town. His last game for Chester was a 2–1 win over Southend United at Sealand Road on 26 April 1980.
Despite interest from Manchester United, and in spite of Rush being a boyhood Everton fan, Liverpool won the race to sign the 19-year-old in April 1980, though he had to remain at Chester until the end of the season as the transfer deadline (27 March 1980) had passed. Recommended by chief scout Geoff Twentyman, Liverpool paid a record fee for a teenager of £300,000. It remained Chester's record sale until they went bankrupt in March 2010. Rush was managed throughout his time at Chester by Alan Oakes, although much of the credit for his development is given to youth manager Cliff Sear. Nearly 20 years later, Rush and Sear worked together on the coaching staff at Wrexham.
Rush made his international debut, in May 1980, just before he officially became a Liverpool player. His Liverpool début came on 13 December that year in a First Division fixture at Portman Road against Ipswich Town. He was standing in for his future strike-partner, Kenny Dalglish (out with an ankle injury), and wore his No 7 shirt. At this stage, Liverpool were defending the league title and also contending for the European Cup, while Ipswich were emerging as surprise title contenders. Liverpool finished fifth (with Aston Villa winning the title), but they did win the European Cup (for the third time) and the League Cup (for the first time). For the League Cup triumph Rush only made one appearance during the cup run but it was a crucial one; starting the replay in the final where they beat West Ham United. For the European Cup campaign Rush also made one appearance; in the semi-final first leg against Bayern Munich, but he was left out of the squad for the final.
During his first season at Liverpool the young Rush mostly played reserve team football, rather than the first team. His first goal for the club came on 30 September 1981 during a European Cup first round second leg tie at Anfield against Oulun Palloseura. Liverpool had already won the first leg at the Raatti Stadium 1–0. They won the second leg 7–0, with Rush scoring in the 67th minute after coming on three minutes earlier for David Johnson.
His first two league goals came on 10 October 1981 in a 3–0 home win over Leeds United, and a month later he scored in the Merseyside derby at Anfield in a 3–1 win. After Christmas, Rush and Liverpool moved from tenth up to the top of the league. He scored a hat-trick in the 4–0 away league win over Notts County on 26 January 1982, and scored in both of the next two games. He managed eight goals in the League Cup (one of them in the final win over Tottenham Hotspur) and three in the FA Cup campaign which ended in a fifth round defeat by Chelsea. He ended the season as the club's top scorer, scoring 30 times in 49 appearances in all competitions, a ratio of 1 goal every 1.6 games. 17 of these goals came in the League as he helped Liverpool reclaim the League championship from Aston Villa. He also scored a goal to help Liverpool win the 1982 Football League Cup final against Tottenham Hotspur.
Rush was voted PFA Young Player of the Year in 1983 after helping Liverpool to a second successive First Division/League Cup double, though once again success eluded them in the European Cup. He scored 24 League goals as Liverpool finished 11 points clear of runners-up Watford. On 6 November 1982 Rush scored four goals against Everton in a 5–0 victory at Goodison Park, a post-war record for goals by a single player in a Merseyside derby.
Liverpool's third successive League Cup triumph was added through a 2–1 win over Manchester United after extra time at Wembley. Rush was voted PFA Player of the Year and BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year in 1984 as Liverpool retained both the League and the League Cup and won the European Cup. Rush also added the Football Writers Footballer of the Year to the PFA award he had already claimed – the same feat that his strike partner Kenny Dalglish had achieved a year earlier. Calling Rush "the predator supreme", journalist John Keith regarded the Rush-Dalglish strike partnership as the best he had seen.
Rush scored 47 goals in 65 games (making him the highest goalscorer in all competitions for any professional club that season), a goal every 1.4 matches, as Liverpool finished three points clear of closest rivals Southampton in the League. They beat rivals Everton 1–0 in the replayed final of the League Cup (after a draw in the first ever all-Merseyside final). The club also won their fourth European Cup by defeating AS Roma 4–2 on penalties, with Rush (who was not a regular penalty taker) scoring Liverpool's fourth, in the final following a 1–1 draw after extra time. He also contested the Intercontinental Cup in Tokyo against Club Atlético Independiente, but this time he was on the losing side, defeated by 1–0.
The 1984–85 season was Liverpool's first trophyless season in ten years, though they did reach a fifth European Cup final, facing Juventus in the game of the Heysel Stadium disaster. Before the match kicked off rioting hooligans caused a retaining wall to collapse, killing 39 Juventus supporters. The game ended in a 1–0 win for Juventus. Liverpool were beaten to the title by neighbours Everton, who were crowned champions with four matches to spare. The sequel to the Heysel disaster was an indefinite ban on all English clubs in European competition, with Liverpool set to serve an extra season once the ban was lifted on other English clubs. This meant that Rush and Liverpool were unable to compete in the 1985–86 UEFA Cup.
In the 1985–86 season Rush scored twice as Liverpool beat Southampton 2–0 in the FA Cup semi-final at White Hart Lane, booking a place at Wembley to face Everton in the first all-Merseyside FA Cup final. Liverpool had pipped their city rivals to the League title (which had also been contested with the likes of West Ham United and Manchester United) by beating Chelsea 1–0 at Stamford Bridge. Everton opened the scoring when Gary Lineker outpaced Alan Hansen to shoot past Grobbelaar at the second attempt and held this lead until half-time. In the second half Liverpool drew level in the 57th minute when Rush latched onto a pass from Jan Mølby to round Everton goalkeeper Bobby Mimms and slot the ball into an empty net. Six minutes later, Mølby was again at the heart of another attack. Picking the ball up inside the Everton penalty area, he drilled a cross for Craig Johnston to score. Liverpool were now 2–1 up, but the game was in the balance until the 84th minute, when Ronnie Whelan led another attack. Dalglish made a run across his path into space, but Whelan used it as a dummy and clipped a pass over three Everton defenders into the path of Rush who, from the angle of the six-yard area, scored past Mimms. Liverpool held on to win 3–1 and completed the first League and FA Cup double in the club's history.