John Barnes has named a former Liverpool captain as the player with the best personality in football.
John Barnes was an influential player at Liverpool. He not only spent 10 years at the club, but was named captain for the 1993/94 and 1996/97 seasons.
Barnes’ own career at Liverpool was marked by individual brilliance, though team success at the highest level proved elusive during his captaincy. In the 1993/94 season, Liverpool finished eighth in the Premier League, and three years later, in 1996/97, the club ended fourth. Despite his leadership roles, Barnes never lifted major trophies as captain. Yet his influence on the club and English football remains undeniable.
Following his playing career, Barnes ventured into management, a path that proved challenging. His first managerial role came at Celtic, where Kenny Dalglish, then Director of Football, entrusted him with the position. The spell, however, was short-lived and largely considered unsuccessful. It would be eight years before Barnes returned to management, taking charge of the Jamaican national team. While he enjoyed a brief period of success with Jamaica, his subsequent stint at Tranmere Rovers ended in dismissal just months into his tenure. These experiences reflect the difficulties many former players face when transitioning from the pitch to the dugout.
The captain in question is Steven Gerrard, a player Barnes missed out on playing alongside at Liverpool by a single year.
Despite this, Barnes told Mail Sport that Gerrard had the best personality in football, which was one of the aspects for building his perfect football player at the Premier League player event.
An example of this particular ‘captain personality’ is when Gerrard’s maturity and emotional intelligence came to light during Liverpool’s famous Champions League final against AC Milan in Istanbul. At halftime, with Liverpool trailing 3-0, Gerrard resisted the impulse to immediately voice his frustrations. Instead, he allowed then-manager Rafa Benitez to speak first, before offering his perspective. This decision, small but significant, demonstrated Gerrard’s understanding of leadership beyond the dramatic gestures often associated with captains. It was a quiet display of authority and respect qualities that earned him admiration from teammates and opponents alike.
Like Barnes, Gerrard has not found the switch from player to manager straightforward. His spell at Aston Villa was largely unsuccessful, while he departed Al-Ettifaq earlier than expected. Before this, however, the former England star led Rangers to their first Scottish Premiership title in a decade, back in 2021.
The former England international acknowledgment of Gerrard’s personality underscores an important lesson leadership in football is about more than skill or accolades. It is about communication, restraint, and the ability to inspire others a standard that Gerrard consistently exemplified. Even as both men navigated the challenges of management differently, Barnes’ admiration confirms that Gerrard’s impact at Liverpool went far beyond his goals and assists.
In a football world often dominated by headlines and ego, Gerrard’s character remains a reminder that true leadership is as much about presence and personality as it is about performance. And according to John Barnes, that combination is what sets Gerrard apart as one of the finest figures in the game’s modern era.
