When it comes to debating the Premier League’s finest midfielders, Steven Gerrard’s name is always front and centre.
The former Liverpool captain is remembered not only as one of the club’s greatest ever players, but also as one of the league’s most complete and influential midfielders.
Over a career that spanned more than 700 appearances for Liverpool, Gerrard defined an era at Anfield. He inspired unforgettable comebacks, scored goals of the highest quality, and carried his team on countless occasions.
Across a glittering 26-year association with the Reds, the talismanic midfielder rose through the academy ranks to captain the club, famously inspiring them to Champions League and FA Cup triumphs.
The Liverpool icon, now 45, is widely regarded as one of the finest players ever to grace England’s top flight, but when asked who he considers the Premier League’s greatest ever midfielder, Gerrard bypassed himself, Frank Lampard, and Paul Scholes.
During a quick-fire interview with TNT Sports, Gerrard instead named another Manchester United rival as the Premier League’s best ever midfielder.
“Roy Keane.”
Keane’s reputation as a fearsome leader and serial winner has long been established, with his drive and standards central to Manchester United’s dominance under Sir Alex Ferguson in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Starting out as a dynamic box-to-box midfielder before evolving into a deep-lying playmaker later in his career, the Irishman combined grit with real technical quality.
During his 13 seasons at Old Trafford, the former Red Devils’ captain collected 12 major trophies, including a historic Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League treble in 1999, along with six other Premier League crowns.
Gerrard’s refusal to put his own name forward underlines his respect for the peers he faced at the very top level. And while debates around Gerrard, Lampard, and Scholes continue to divide opinion, in his eyes, Roy Keane set the standard above them all.
And in the end, perhaps that is the greatest compliment of all is when one of the Premier League’s finest midfielders of all time looks across the pitch and names you as the very best.
