Pele Snubbed Gerrard When Naming Three 'World-Class' England Players in Golden Generation

Steven Gerrard, at least by most people, was considered to be world-class – but Brazil legend Pelé took a different view in his 2006 book.

Discussions about England’s so-called ‘Golden Generation’ have been doing the rounds lately, with the likes of Michael Owen, Wayne Rooney, and Gerrard all offering their thoughts on why the Three Lions did not win a major trophy during the 2000s.

For years, there were rumours that players from rival clubs did not sit together in communal areas as they seemingly struggled to put aside their alliances during international camps.

In a recent appearance on Rio Ferdinand’s podcast, former Liverpool captain Gerrard described the players involved in the ‘Golden Generation’ as “egotistical losers”, as well as admitting that he “hated” international duty because the boredom of sitting in hotel rooms made him feel “down”.

Led by Sven Goran Eriksson, between 2001 and 2006, an England side which featured Gerrard, Paul Scholes, Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole, Rooney, David Beckham, John Terry and several more top talents failed to get past the World Cup quarter-finals in both 2002 and 2006.

Steven Gerrard in action at the 2006 FIFA World Cup (Credit:Getty)

In the Euros, the Three Lions reached the quarter-finals of the 2004 tournament but failed to even qualify for the 2008 edition under Steve McClaren.

Gerrard and Co. ultimately failed in an England jersey and will no doubt look back on their time with the national team with much regret.

However, the Liverpudlian enjoyed success with his hometown club and won eight major trophies - one UEFA Champions League (2005), two FA Cups (2001, 2006), one UEFA Cup (2001), three League Cups (2001, 2003, 2012), one UEFA Super Cup (2001), and one FA Community Shield (2006) – with Liverpool, before joining LA Galaxy in 2015.

And despite, at times, single-handedly dragging the Reds to success, it was three other members of the ‘Golden Generation’ that Pele dubbed world-class in his 2006 autobiography.

Pele won three World Cups with Brazil (Credit:Getty)

The Brazilian, who is the only player to have won three World Cups, spoke about England players of different generations and was quick to praise Gordon Banks, Jimmy Greaves, Bobby Charlton and Bobby Moore before homing in on the then-current crop of players in 2006.

He referenced Beckham, Rooney and Owen before claiming “all are world-class”.

However, the Brazilian icon did, in fact, say that Gerrard had been “the best player in the world” over the past five years during another 2006 interview with Sky Sports.

Pele said: "He is a midfielder; he plays very good. People didn't mention Gerrard, now they mention Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Messi because they are forwards."