Steven Gerrard did not mention former Manchester United centre-back Rio Ferdinand when naming the three best defenders of his generation.
Gerrard, 45, is widely considered to be one of the greatest Premier League midfielders of all time alongside the likes of Frank Lampard, Paul Scholes and Roy Keane.
During his illustrious playing career, he won eight major honours with Liverpool – one UEFA Champions League, two FA Cups, three League Cups, one UEFA Cup, and one UEFA Super Cup – as well as representing England on 114 occasions.
Even the best players, such as Zinedine Zidane and Kaka, have previously complimented Gerrard despite the Liverpudlian having failed to lift a Premier League trophy, although he did come close on multiple occasions.
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In 2005, the former Red skipper enjoyed his greatest night in a Liverpool shirt when, against all odds, his team overturned a three-goal deficit against a top-class AC Milan side to secure the club’s fifth European Cup/Champions League crown in Istanbul, Turkey.
On that night, Milan’s defence was made up of Cafu, Paolo Maldini, Jaap Stam and Alessandro Nesta, who Gerrard named as one of the best he faced.
But who else did Gerrard consider to be the best defenders of his generation?
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In his 2015 book ‘Steven Gerrard: My Story’, Gerrard gave his thoughts and almost predictably named his old mate Jamie Carragher alongside another former England centre-back.
Gerrard said: “Jamie [Carragher] was a great footballer. It’s incredible to think of what he was as a local boy when money was pouring into football.
“At one stage in them three years when we twice reached the Champions League final, Liverpool could’ve bought any defender in the world, but no one would’ve been able to take Carra’s place in the heart of our defence.
“Jamie became one of Europe’s top defenders.”
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He added: “He was consistently good for a decade or more, but I think he had a couple of years where he was up there alongside Alessandro Nesta and John Terry. I’ve always believed that Terry is the best defender of my generation. But Carra had a chunk of form where he was as good as Terry and Nesta.”
And despite Gerrard’s claim, Ferdinand still puts him in the top six Premier League midfielders of all time.
"I've got [Patrick] Vieira, [Kevin] De Bruyne, [Frank] Lampard, [Roy] Keane, Gerrard, [Paul] Scholes," he said when naming his picks on Rio Presents in April.
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"They're my Mount Rushmore, my holy grail midfielders in the Premier League era."
He added: "All these guys could single-handedly carry the whole team on their own. Any day, any month, any year. Rodri will be in there in time, I think."
Topics: Steven Gerrard, Rio Ferdinand, Football, Premier League, Liverpool, Jamie Carragher, John Terry, Manchester United
Luke Davies