Wayne Rooney finally settles the Steven Gerrard, Paul Scholes and Frank Lampard debate once and for all

Wayne Rooney has finally settled the Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Paul Scholes debate once and for all.

Having earned 120 caps and scored 53 goals for England, Rooney is undoubtedly one of the greatest players in Three Lions history.

As a member of England's 'golden generation' - which somehow never progressed beyond the quarter-finals of a major tournament - the former striker played alongside some legendary players.

Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Paul Scholes are among them, three midfielders who have long been at the centre of debate.

Many fans have pinned England's failure to win any silverware on the inability of Lampard and Gerrard to play well alongside each other, plus the fact that Paul Scholes decided to retire from international football early after being misused in the national team.

In recent years supporters and pundits have debated which of the trio was the best, but now Rooney has settled the debate once and for all.

During a recent appearance on The Overlap brought to you by Sky Bet, Rooney was asked to name the best player that he ever played alongside.

"On ability, Cristiano Ronaldo," he replied. "But Scholsey as well with what he brought to the team but certainly from an ability point of view, I’d say Cristiano.

Rooney played alongside Gerrard, Scholes and Lampard. (Getty)

Rooney then went on to compare Scholes, Lampard and Gerrard.

"Paul Scholes, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard are 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 he’s the best from that point of view.

"From a goalscoring point of view, Lamps [Frank Lampard] was the best. The goals he scored were incredible from midfield and technically he wasn’t at Stevie or Scholesy’s level but there was no-one better at scoring goals from midfield.

"Scholesy, the way he adapted [made him amazing]. He was a striker when he was younger so to go to a ten, then midfield then a deeper midfielder dictating the game, I don’t think either of the other two [Gerrard or Lampard] could dictate a game the way he could.

"All were world-class players. Stevie could come to Manchester United and be a top player and do what Scholes could do. But I don’t think Scholes could do what Stevie did at Liverpool."