Rio Ferdinand & Virgil van Dijk's five greatest Premier League centre-backs | OneFootball

Over the years, the Premier League has been blessed with some truly exceptional centre-backs. The likes of John Terry, Nemanja Vidic, Ruben Dias, Rio Ferdinand and Virgil van Dijk have all plied their trade in England's top flight since the Premier League was created, and they're just a handful of the elite stars that forged incredible legacies in the division.

With such a deep list of legendary stars who played in the position and spent considerable time in the Premier League, the debate about the best of the best is one that has raged on among fans and pundits alike for quite some time. Everyone has completely different opinions on who the best centre-back in the history of the division actually is.

Two opinions that hold more weight than most, are those of Ferdinand and Van Dijk, two of the very best centre-backs ever, who revealed their personal lists of the top five centre-backs to ever play in the Premier League during a television appearance. The pair had some very interesting answers as well.

Rio Ferdinand's five best centre-backs in Premier League history

Virgil van Dijk made his list

Up stepped the former Manchester United man first, who backed himself and placed himself at the summit of the list, ahead of some Premier League greats. That's quite a show of self-confidence. Closely following him, by no surprise, was his partner in crime, Vidic. The pair wreaked havoc in the league during their time together at Old Trafford, winning everything they possibly could as Sir Alex Ferguson's side dominated English football for quite some time. They were pivotal to the club's success and there were few strikers in the world who were capable of beating them when they were at their best together, so Ferdinand's decision to include himself and his former teammate isn't that big of a shock.

What came as maybe more of a surprise was that Ferdinand then chose Van Dijk, claiming that the Dutchman boasts the full package. After emerging as a top star at Celtic and Southampton, his move to Liverpool catapulted him into superstardom and the immediate impact that he had at Anfield was hard to ignore. He helped transform Liverpool into a world-class team and as such, his talent and influence should be recognised. We're just surprised that Ferdinand had him as high as third.

Jaap Stam, another former United defender came in next. While his time in England was short, he still did more than enough at Old Trafford to leave a lasting impression on the football world and if he hadn't left United so early, there's a strong chance that Stam could have risen to number one on many people's lists.

Considering personal issues, it was also very surprising to see John Terry included in Ferdinand's list, rounding out the list in fifth place. The former Chelsea man is undeniably one of the greatest leaders in Premier League history and holds a place on many top-five lists, but with his very public beef with Ferdinand over the years, it's surprising to see him included.

Van Dijk's five best centre-backs in Premier League history

Van Dijk was full of praise for Ferdinand

Liverpool’s colossal defender then took to the board to form his list. He returned the favour and also chose Ferdinand to top his list, praising his versatility to play in the modern era. While the former England international is remembered as one of the greats, he very rarely tops these sorts of lists, so it's quite a shock to see both men recognise him as the best centre-back in Premier League history.

Vincent Kompany, who failed to make Ferdinand’s list, was van Dijk’s second choice. Injuries may have restricted the former Manchester City man at times, but they didn't stop him from becoming one of the Premier League's greatest-ever centre-backs and Van Dijk has recognised that.

His fellow countryman followed as the Liverpool man also picked Stam and the pair showered the former United man with praise for his time in England and Italy, but also for his country. Chelsea’s Terry was another star that made it on both men's lists as he came in at fourth. Van Dijk referenced his famous record of the least goals conceded in a season, which was 15.

To finish off his list, the ‘underrated’ Sami Hyypia was included and praised for his on-ball ability and importance to Liverpool. The former Finnish international's legacy in the Premier League has often been underappreciated, and it's nice to see his time and work at Anfield being recognised by one of Liverpool's current stars.

Interestingly, Van Dijk, unlike Ferdinand earlier, left himself out of his own top five list, but we have a feeling that his exclusion was a showing of modesty. He went on to say how he hopes to be remembered in the same breath as the rest of these English topflight legends and considering what we've seen from him so far, it feels almost certain that he will be spoken about among those other names when he decides to hang his boots up for good.

Regardless of your opinion, it was refreshing to see two established legends of the game respectfully hash out a widely discussed topic. While we've all got our own thoughts on the best centre-backs in Premier League history, hearing from two of the very best offers an interesting insight.