One of the most-discussed debates surrounding English football for decades has revolved around which midfielder out of Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Paul Scholes was the best.
Fundamentally, Gerrard, Lampard and Scholes were very different players — making the debate a difficult one to settle.
Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard were all-action midfielders while Paul Scholes was a deep-lying playmaker at his best.
All three English legends played in a variety of roles but their best versions were perhaps in the number eight role.
Pep Guardiola had the pleasure of watching Frank Lampard and Paul Scholes up close when he was managing Barcelona while having witnessed Steven Gerrard’s magnificence for years as well.
Pep Guardiola named Paul Scholes as his “favourite” over Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard
In terms of his own playing style, Guardiola was perhaps most similar to Scholes over Gerrard and Lampard as he used to dictate the game from deep as well, albeit as a traditional holding midfielder.
But the Manchester City boss would have appreciated Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard for how consistently impactful they were in the attacking third of the pitch.
Rio Ferdinand asked Guardiola in an interview which one out of Paul Scholes, Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard was the best midfielder.
Pep Guardiola did not pick the best player but named Scholes as his “favourite” on Ferdinand’s YouTube channel: “Ah, who’s the best?”
“All respect, Frank and Steven, all respect 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 [country’s footballing standards from midfield] but Paul Scholes is my favourite.”
- READ MORE: Paul Scholes names who he thinks is the greatest Manchester United player ever ahead of Wayne Rooney
Comparing Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Paul Scholes’ stats
Pep Guardiola’s answer came as no surprise at the time, considering Paul Scholes’ approach to the game was similar to the likes of Xavi Hernandez and Ilkay Gundogan — profiles of midfielders he has always fancied.
The fact that a once-legendary midfielder like Guardiola, who went on to become one of the greatest managers in history was such a huge fan of the Manchester United great goes to show how incredible a player he was.
While the debate between Paul Scholes, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard is likely set to be had for years to come, one way to compare the trident is their respective statistics.
| CLUB STATS | PAUL SCHOLES | FRANK LAMPARD | STEVEN GERRARD |
| MATCHES | 716 | 871 | 710 |
| GOALS | 155 | 256 | 186 |
| ASSISTS | 82 | 167 | 155 |
| TROPHIES WON | 25 | 13 | 9 |
Lampard played 871 games, more than both Scholes (716) and Gerrard (710) in Europe while also scoring (167) and assisting (256) the most goals. But Paul Scholes won far more trophies (25) and while the statistics do not necessarily favour Steven Gerrard, he might be the most complete player out of the three.
