The Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard or Paul Scholes debate can seem tedious, but at least Wayne Rooney speaks with some authority on the topic having played with all three.
Rooney is an Evertonian who became Man United‘s all-time leading goalscorer, so when he says Gerrard is the winner, you have to take note.
Asked for his verdict on England midfield trio, Rooney said on the Overlap: “They’re all different. As an all-rounder, Stevie is the best; he can defend, pass the ball, run, tackle, score goals, set pieces.
“As an all-rounder, Stevie’s the best from that point of view.
“From a goalscoring point of view, Lamps [was best] – the goals he scored were incredible from midfield. Technically probably not at Stevie or Scholesy’s level, but there was no-one better at scoring goals from midfield.
“Scholesy, just how he adapted [made him great]. He was almost a striker when he was younger. To then go to a No. 10, to midfield then deeper midfield dictating the game, I don’t think any of the other two could dictate games the way he could.”
After praising all three, Rooney eventually came to the conclusion that Gerrard was best, saying: “All were world-class players.
“Stevie could come to Man United and be a top, top player and almost do what Scholesy could do where I don’t think Scholes could go and do what Stevie did at Liverpool.”
Gary Neville agreed, adding: “Not in the way in which he did it, no chance.”
It is refreshing to hear such honesty that echoes how Liverpool supporters have felt on the topic.
Out of all Rooney’s England teammates, he played with Ashley Cole and Lampard the most, on 70 occasions, while he shared the shirt with Gerrard 69 times.
While playing together, Rooney and Gerrard combined to score seven goals, more than with any other teammates that Rooney had for his country.
On X, Liverpool supporters reacted to Rooney’s comments, largely agreeing with the ex-Man United and Everton player’s views.
No one actually believes Scholes was better than him deep down. No one really believes De Bruyne is better than him either. If Gerrard had gone to Madrid, he'd be talked about alongside Zidane, never mind Scholes and Lampard. Better than both of them combined.
— LB (@LBLFC_) May 28, 2024
Literally only United fans think Scholes is better. There’s a reason why Fergie was desperate to sign Gerrard even though he had ‘the greatest English player ever’ in his squad
— Noel (@TheSIotEra) May 28, 2024
Gerrard is one of the best all round midfielders there’s been, very few would struggle to do what he could do at Liverpool.
Scholes was world class though, just not Gerrard’s level in my opinion
— JT (@my_sum) May 28, 2024
Now making his way as a manager, Rooney has recently taken over at Plymouth who will be playing in the Championship next season. Meanwhile, Gerrard remains boss at Al-Ettifaq in Saudi Arabia.
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