Rio Ferdinand makes huge Steven Gerrard claim after sharing DM from former Aston Villa boss
Manchester United icon names his three greatest Premier League midfielders as former Aston Villa boss sparks fierce debate
Rio Ferdinand has sparked a feisty discussion on his podcast by declaring Steven Gerrard as one of the top three midfielders in Premier League history.
Podcast co-host Joel Beya couldn't hide his shock when Ferdinand named Liverpool great and former Aston Villa boss Gerrard alongside Roy Keane and Paul Scholes as the top three Premier League midfielders while ignoring the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Patrick Vieira.
But Ferdinand stood firm, setting aside the fierce Man United v Liverpool club rivalry as he argued why he rates Gerrard more highly than De Bruyne in a vigorous exchange that left Beya shaking his head.
"I've got Vieira, De Bruyne, Lampard, Keane, Gerrard, Scholes," Ferdinand said as he listed his overall elite midfield stars on the 'Rio Presents' podcast. "They're my Mount Rushmore, my holy grail midfielders in the Premier League era."
"All these guys could single-handedly carry the whole team on their own. Any day, any month, any year. Rodri will be in there in time, I think."
But when pressed to name his top three, Ferdinand added: "I'm going to say Viera, Lampard and De Bruyne just miss out for me." Instead, he named old United team-mates Scholes and Keane, before adding: "The other one is Gerrard. Yeah, he's above Kevin De Bruyne."
Ferdinand elaborated on his admiration for Gerrard, explaining: "I love watching De Bruyne and he's done some great things, but Gerrard's done things that others... it's like Roy of the Rovers stuff, no-one else is doing that.
"We said who would you have as your best midfielders, who are your all-time Premier League players. I'm just saying who I prefer, and that's who I preferred."
Highlighting Gerrard's versatility, Ferdinand described him as a multi-functional player. He told listeners: "Stevie was jack of all trades, he was a Swiss army knife of a player, he could do everything. He could be the holder, he could be right-back, he could be right-midfield, he could be a number 10, and he could be an eight...
"De Bruyne better than Gerrard? No! De Bruyne's not better than Gerrard on any day of the week. I'm sorry, he's not. He's not, he's not."
Refusing to budge, he challenged anyone to convince him otherwise, adding: "I can't have it, I'm sorry. Tell me why he (De Bruyne) is better? I'm not saying it's a big difference... I'm just saying if you go clip for clip, Gerrard does him."
Ferdinand even admitted receiving Instagram DMs from Gerrard expressing his respect for another Man City legend after their on-field encounters.
"Steven Gerrard saw the Yaya (Toure) interview and DM'd me on Instagram the other day," Ferdinand said. "Talking about Yaya was the real deal. He said Yaya was a different type of problem than we've ever seen.
"He did add a layer to that - 'especially at that stage of my career'. I think prime time Stevie in his own head would be going, 'Nah, no-one can do that to me'.
"I think that plays a lot sometimes. Prime time Steven Gerrard and prime time Frank Lampard saw a different Roy Keane. But a young Frank Lampard and a young Steven Gerrard saw THE Roy Keane, who they couldn't get near."
Ferdinand finally dismissed the Manchester United v Liverpool rivalry in his assessment. He said: "I love KDB, don't get me wrong, but I'm putting Gerrard in there. I'm sorry.
"He's a Liverpool player, and we weren't mates with England. I'm not doing mates, if it was Mates FC, Frank Lampard would be in there because I grew up with him..
"Lampard's the best goalscoring midfielder the Premier League's ever seen. He has to be disappointed not to be in there. But I'm choosing who I would pay to watch and who I'd want in my team."