Steven Gerrard believes Manchester United legend Paul Scholes would be regarded as the Premier League’s best midfielder if he were playing in the current era.
Gerrard and Scholes were teammates with England’s national team but the pair shared an intense rivalry during United’s battles with Liverpool.
The former Liverpool captain admits he is unsure whether he would be regarded as an elite midfielder in this generation due to how the game has evolved at a technical level.
But Gerrard has no doubt that Scholes would ‘hands down’ be the standout midfielder among the current Premier League crop which includes Declan Rice, Moises Caicedo and Rodri.
‘I think Declan Rice is a really, really good midfielder. I like an awful lot about him, I like the kid, I like his mentality, I like he’s gone to the next level at Arsenal, he’s adding different things to his game, I think he would be a really tough, strong opponent, a good challenge,’ Gerrard said in an interview with Rio Ferdinand.
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‘Jude Bellingham, if he was in the Premier League, I’d love to go toe-to-toe with him, I think that would be interesting. They’re the two best at the moment I’d say, from an English point of view.
‘There’s certain midfielders I didn’t enjoy playing against, the Barcelona-type midfielder. When they’re collectively together, when it’s my style and you really want to leave a stamp on someone, them together were really difficult to play against, Xavi, [Sergio] Busquets and [Andres] Iniesta, what a blend of a midfield. I look at Pedri now and these type of players, they were the most difficult challenge for me.
‘I’m not sure I could be respected as well as I got respected during my career now in today’s game. I think it’s changed, it’s more a technical game, more tactical. The rules of the game have moved and evolved. Tackling, leaving a stamp, physicality, it’s a more friendlier atmosphere, it’s a more safer game. I like football the generation before, that’s me, but that’s the generation I played in. It’s a little bit more technical now, you can get booked and go off a football pitch for nothing.
‘That’s what would concern me now – could I be the Steven Gerrard that played in our generation? Could be that now? I’m not sure. I’d have to adapt. I think it would take a lot away from my style.
‘I think now, hands down, he [Scholes] would be the best midfielder in the Premier League.
‘Scholesy, for me, was very much an in-possession controller of a midfield controller of a game, can switch the play, you get close and he could pop it round you, he can play the outside of his foot, score important goals, make the last pass.
‘My thing for me was can you get him on the other side of the game, can you take him the other way, can you get physical with him, he’ll get booked against you. I’m not sure in today’s game you could leave one on Scholesy, for example.
‘He would have everyone terrorised in the Premier League. I’m telling you right now, he would have everyone terrorised in the Premier League now.
‘He’d be the best midfielder in the Premier League, hands down.’
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