Rio Ferdinand gives perfect response to the Gerrard, Lampard and Scholes debate | OneFootball

Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand delivered the perfect response when asked about the old-age debate between Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Paul Scholes, though he did eventually land on the latter as the supreme midfielder. Undoubtedly three of the greatest central midfielders of the Premier League era, it is a debate that will prevail the test of time – and one that is typically settled thanks to club bias.

A barrage of footballers have nailed down their answer over the years with defender-turned-pundit Jamie Carragher, unsurprisingly, picking Gerrard, Premier League cult hero Thierry Henry opting for Scholes and ex-Manchester City talisman Sergio Aguero landing on Lampard. After all, it’s not that simple.

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Ferdinand weighs in on the debate

'It's hard isn't it?'

Speaking to former Chelsea enforcer John Obi Mikel on his podcast, The Obi One Podcast, Ferdinand waxed lyrical about the English trio – but started off by admitting how difficult it is to decipher between them.

'It's hard isn't it.”

Yes Rio, it really is. All three, in their own right, deserve their plaudits for their respective stints at Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool and, given that Ferdinand had the pleasure of lining up alongside all three, who’s better to ask than the man himself? Speaking about his former Red Devils teammate, he insisted that even opponents would question him whether his on-field exploits were a day-to-day occurrence. He was that good.

"The one I enjoyed playing with the most was Scholesy. I could give the ball to Scholesy and shout a name. He wouldn't look, but still be able to find them. He would do crazy stuff and even opposing players were going to me 'does he do this every day?'."

Likening his performances to watching someone perform in the cinema, Ferdinand praised Scholes’ ability to dictate a game at his own pace and claimed that the 11-time Premier League champion would make others perform to a higher standard.

“It was like we were at the cinema watching someone perform. What I loved about him is he could dictate a game; decide a game and he got other people playing better. So those elements are where you think wow! He would never be ruffled in any situation. I thought he was a genius.”

Despite bombarding Scholes with compliments, the former defender caveated his opinion by sharing his views on the other two, all while highlighting their best attributes. Talking about Chelsea icon Lampard, he admitted that he’d pick him as a manager given his ability to contribute on the goalscoring front, while he praised Gerrard for his big-game personality.

He ended the segment with a statement about Scholes, however, claiming that if he was to spend money on watching a game, he’d reached the furthest in his pockets to watch Scholes strut his stuff in the centre of the park. Scholes may have been underappreciated at international level, but he still has the backing of his former teammate.

"If I was a manager for a season I would probably go Frank because I would get 20 goals out of him. I want that 20 from midfield. If I've got a striker scoring 25 and a midfielder with 20 goals, you're going to be close to winning the league. But, if I want a big moment in a big game, I'd probably go Stevie. And if I'm going to pay to watch a game, I'm going to pay to watch Scholsey.”

Scholes and Ferdinand’s time at Old Trafford

Duo won five Premier League titles together

If anyone has the right to shower Scholes with praise, it’s bound to be one of his teammates, right? In fact, Ferdinand shared the pitch with Scholes on 293 different occasions, which amounted to 21,125 minutes. It’s an impressive tally – and it's only one that Roy Keane, David Beckham, Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs bettered during their illustrious careers. The Englishmen won 191 of their games together and totted up a points per game ratio of 2.14.

The pair, under the formidable Sir Alex Ferguson, enjoyed six Premier League triumphs, one Champions League, three League Cups. Some feat, eh? Both players were mainstays during the Scotsman’s reign and can both be considered club legends with them both making it into Ferguson’s most-used XI based on appearances.