Scholes vs Gerrard vs Lampard: Who did Pep Guardiola choose? | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola is pretty well placed to answer the Paul Scholes vs Steven Gerrard vs Frank Lampard debate.

As a former world-class midfielder himself who is more than aware of English footballing culture, Guardiola knows one or two things about judging the merits of each legendary player.

It is, after all, the Premier League‘s equivalent of the Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi saga with fans up and down the country putting forward their case across pub tables and living rooms.

Besides, it’s a conversation that pulls in some of the biggest fanbases across the land with each player holding legendary status at Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea respectively.

However, with Guardiola’s loyalties lying with Manchester City, there was always going to be the opportunity for him to give an honest and open answer on the debate as opposed to sitting on the fence as is so often the case.

And to Guardiola’s credit, he didn’t shy away from making his feelings clear when the question was put to him by Rio Ferdinand during an interview at the back end of 2022.

Scholes vs Gerrard vs Lampard: Who did Guardiola pick?

In a wide-ranging conversation, Ferdinand just couldn’t resist putting the age-old question to one of the greatest managers of all time, and his reaction was so good that it’s gone viral months after he initially said it.

Once Guardiola had clarified that Ferdinand was asking who he thought was best, the City coach instantly responded: “All respect to Frank [Lampard], to Steven [Gerrard] but Paul Scholes is my favourite one.

“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.”

However, arguably better than the actual content of his answer was the look on Guardiola’s face as he revealed his admiration for Scholes, going all giddy as though he was a fanboy in the stands.

Video: Guardiola can’t hide his admiration for Scholes

All in all, it’s about the umpteen-millionth time that an ex-pro has confessed their admiration for Scholes with Guardiola joining the likes of Zinedine Zidane and Xavi to eulogise about him.

Regardless of what the statistics might say or how the discourse on Twitter might unfold, the ballers who know, know.

So the next time that Scholes is slandered and lambasted in the latest iteration of the debate with Gerrard and Lampard on social media, just remember the expression on Guardiola’s face.

For all the temptation there must have been to give a political and non-committal answer, Guardiola just couldn’t hide his love for one of the all-time greats for a second.

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