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Topics: Pep Guardiola, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Paul Scholes, Football, Manchester City
George Priestman
Topics: Pep Guardiola, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Paul Scholes, Football, Manchester City
Pep Guardiola has weighed in with his opinion on the classic Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Paul Scholes debate.
The infamous question among football fans has been a hugely debated topic for well over a decade now, with every man and his dog seemingly have discussed who was the best central midfielder out of the trio.
All three achieved great success in the sport, with all three becoming legends at their respective clubs as well as just being football legends in general.
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However, Manchester City's manager has given his thoughts on the debate, and given he's won 33 trophies across four clubs, his opinion certainly goes a long way.
Guardiola met with former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand for a YouTube video for the channel 'Rio Ferdinand Presents Five'.
Speaking to Vibe with Five, the 51-year-old said: "All respect to Frank [Lampard], to Steven [Gerrard] but Paul Scholes is my favourite one.
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"I love it. I think he had everything but the other two, come on, Frank and Steven Gerrard changed this. Paul Scholes is my favourite."
The look on his face when speaking about the former United midfielder was one of complete admiration, and it wasn't the first time he had spoke about Scholes in such glowing terms.
Back in 2011, when Guardiola was preparing his Barcelona side to face United in the Champions League final, he remarked that 'he is the best midfielder of his generation'.
He also went on to pick his ultimate five-a-side team, which included some of football's greatest ever players in Johan Cruyff, Diego Maradona and Zinedine Zidane.
The trio have been compared in the past for their Ballon d'Or votes over the course of their respective careers, in which you can draw some interesting conclusions.
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Of course, Lampard famously pipped Gerrard to a second placed finish in the 2005 award, with Ronaldinho taking the crown that year.
But over the course of their careers, Gerrard received the most total votes with 220, whilst Lampard received 169, with Scholes receiving a shocking zero votes across five nominations.
Gerrard only played for Liverpool and LA Galaxy, as he totalled 749 appearances with 191 goals and 168 assists that also included winning nine trophies.
Lampard played for West Ham, Chelsea, Manchester City and New York City FC, making 892 appearances with 267 goals and 171 assists alongside winning 14 trophies across his career.
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Scholes was the most decorated of the three, winning 25 trophies that includes 11 Premier League titles.
He was also the only one to stay at a single club, as Scholes totalled 153 goals and 75 assists across his hugely impressive career.
Watch the full video with Ferdinand and Guardiola here.