Rio Ferdinand weighs in on Paul Scholes, Frank Lampard & Steven Gerrard debate

Rio Ferdinand has weighed in to give his opinion on the debate between Paul Scholes, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard.

Scholes, Gerrard and Lampard are three of the greatest midfielders in Premier League history, with the trio all racking up numerous individual and team accolades across their careers.

But, despite their glittering time in the game, they struggled to form an effective partnership in the centre of the park for England as the Three Lions' Golden Generation struggled to fulfill their potential on the international stage.

There has regularly been a debate over which midfielder was the best and Ferdinand - who won six Premier League titles alongside Scholes at Man United and played with Lampard and Gerrard for England - gave his views.

'It's hard isn't it,' he told The Obi One Podcast with former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel.

'The one I enjoyed playing with the most was Scholesy. I could give the ball to Scholesy and shout a name. He wouldn't look, but still be able to find them.

'He would do crazy stuff and even opposing players were going to me "does he do this every day?".

'It was like we were at the cinema watching someone perform. What I loved about him is he could dictate a game, decide a game and he got other people playing better.

'So those elements are where you think wow! He would never be ruffled in any situation. I thought he was a genius.'

Despite his backing for his former club team-mate, Ferdinand caveated that view with the different traits the three midfielders would all bring.

He added: 'If I was a manager for a season I would probably go Frank because I would get 20 goals out of him.

'I want that 20 from midfield. If I've got a striker scoring 25 and a midfielder with 20 goals, you're going to be close to winning the league.

'But, if I want a big moment in a big game, I'd probably go Stevie.

'And if I'm going to pay to watch a game, I'm going to pay to watch Scholsey.'