Steven Gerrard's favourite ever teammate made him feel 'invincible' on the pitch while worst teammate had 'no real interest in football'

Steven Gerrard has recalled feeling "invincible" whilst playing alongside his favourite-ever teammate, but the worst teammate of his career "had no real interest in football" and "didn't care" about Liverpool.

Gerrard will go down as one of the Premier League's greatest midfielders. He spent the entirety of his 17-year career at boyhood club Liverpool, notching 120 goals and 92 assists in 504 league appearances for the Reds.

The midfielder also captained his side to a famous comeback victory in the 2005 Champions League final against AC Milan – a game that will live long in the memory of Liverpool fans.

He also shared the pitch with some top quality players, but his all-time favourite is fellow Liverpudlian Jamie Carragher.

"My favourite player would always have to be Carra [Jamie Carragher]," he told the Liverpool Echo in 2016. "I always felt more secure, I felt more invincible being in front of him because I always knew what I had behind me, I knew I had a leader and, well, a mouth."

Gerrard added: "Everybody knows I'm not someone who shouts much on the field, as a captain I was more of a one-to-one speaker and more one to talk at the right time. Carra, though, did love a good shout. And I always felt better when he was behind me, I felt we had a better chance of success."

Gerrard also paid tribute to some of his most talented teammates, including Fernando Torres, Luis Suarez and Ballon d'Or winner Michael Owen.

"I used to love playing with Michael Owen because of his movement and, speaking as a midfielder, whenever he was playing in front of me then I knew I had a chance of an assist," Gerrard said.

"I was a massive fan of Robbie Fowler and he was my hero when I was trying to get into the team. I played with him more towards the end of his career -- his best days were before I became a regular -- but it was still an honour. As a midfielder, I do love a good striker.

"Usually the best players are the ones who are good on a daily basis in training, the ones who are consistent.

"Xabi Alonso was one such player, I knew after five minutes of his first training session that he was some player, just from his passing technique. You can tell after a few days' training who is going to make it."

Gerrard will go down as one of Liverpool's greatest players. Image credit: Getty

Steven Gerrard names his worst teammate at Liverpool

Back in the summer of 2002, Senegalese striker El Hadji Diouf joined Liverpool from French side Lens for a reported £10 million.

It was a controversial move, to say the least, and Gerrard argued that he was part of a trio of signings that were the biggest waste of money in Liverpool's history.

In his autobiography titled My Story, Gerrard made some bold claims. “I don’t really want to waste time thinking about El Hadji Diouf but it’s worth highlighting his wasted seasons at Liverpool as an example of how it can all go wrong," he wrote.

“Gerard Houllier, a very good manager and a usually wise judge of character, signed Diouf in the summer of 2002. Gerard bought Diouf for £10m from Lens - solely on the recommendation of his former assistant, Patrice Bergues, who had coached Diouf there.

“I understood why Gerard rushed through the signing, but he did not really know Diouf as a person. He was one of three new signings which were meant to turn Liverpool into Premier League champions."

Gerrard and Diouf were hardly the best of friends. Image credit: Getty

He added: “We had finished as runners-up to Manchester United the season before and a combination of Diouf, Salif Diao and Bruno Cheyrou was supposed to drive us to the title. It was probably the biggest waste of £18m in Liverpool’s history.

“We finished the season in fifth place and Diouf had sealed his place at the top of the list of Liverpool signings I liked least.

“It seemed to me that Diouf had no real interest in football and that he cared nothing about Liverpool. For example, the way he spat a huge globule of gunky phlegm at a Celtic fan in a UEFA Cup match at Parkhead in March 2003 summed up his contemptuous and spiteful demeanour."

"A few people have since asked me if I saw any comparison between Diouf and Mario Balotelli - and I’ve always said no," Gerrard maintained. "I’ve got respect for Balotelli; I’ve got none for Diouf."