Lampard, Gerrard and Scholes ranked as England's finest midfielders

№3 Frank Lampard

Frank Lampard is one of the best English footballers of all time. He made his name as a Chelsea midfielder, and his greatest success was winning the Champions League in the 2011/12 season. Lampard started his career at West Ham and played for the Hammers until 2001, when the Blues signed him for £11m. He spent 13 years at Chelsea, winning the Premier League three times, the FA Cup four times and the League Cup twice. He then moved to Manchester City for a season before joining New York City. For England, Lampard made 106 appearances between 1999 and 2014 and scored an impressive 29 goals. He played at three World Cups and two European Championships.

№2 Steven Gerrard

The former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard is one of the most passionate midfielders in the history of English football. He scored 188 goals in 719 club appearances and won 114 caps for England, scoring 21 goals for the Three Lions. In 2001 he won a treble with Liverpool as the Merseysiders lifted the UEFA Cup, the UEFA Super Cup and the Football League Cup. His greatest achievement was winning the Champions League in 2005, when Liverpool beat AC Milan on penalties. The one regret of his career was never becoming a Premier League champion with Liverpool; the Reds finished second three times with Gerrard in the side. He went on to join LA Galaxy.

№1 Paul Scholes

It is difficult to say which part of Paul Scholes’s game was the best. Long passing was his trademark, and most of his goals came from powerful shots outside the box. Scholes was also brave in defence and never hesitated to throw himself into a tackle. The midfielder scored more than 100 Premier League goals for Manchester United, the only club he ever played for, and won absolutely everything with the Red Devils: the Premier League eleven times, the FA Cup three times, the League Cup twice, the Community Shield five times, the Champions League twice, the Intercontinental Cup once and the FIFA Club World Cup once. Scholes made his international debut in 1997 in a friendly against South Africa. He went on to play at the 1998 and 2002 World Cups and at Euro 2000 and Euro 2004, after which he unexpectedly decided to end his international career.

How their playing careers ended

All three finished their careers with remarkable records. Lampard left Chelsea as the club’s all-time leading goalscorer with 211 goals in all competitions, and his 177 Premier League goals are the most scored by a midfielder in the league’s history. He finished second to Ronaldinho in the 2005 Ballon d’Or and was named FWA Footballer of the Year the same year. He announced his retirement as a player on 2 February 2017.

Gerrard’s final game came for LA Galaxy, a play-off defeat on penalties against Colorado Rapids on 6 November 2016, and he announced his retirement on 24 November 2016. His big-match goals defined his career: he headed Liverpool’s first goal in the 2005 Champions League final, which finished 3-3 before Liverpool won the shoot-out 3-2, and he scored twice in the 2006 FA Cup final against West Ham United, including an injury-time equaliser from 35 yards. He was PFA Players’ Player of the Year in 2006 and FWA Footballer of the Year in 2009.

Scholes retired twice. He first announced his retirement in May 2011, then returned as a substitute in a 3-2 FA Cup win over Manchester City on 8 January 2012. He stopped for good in May 2013 after a last league appearance against West Bromwich Albion, finishing with 718 appearances and 155 goals for Manchester United, plus 66 caps and 14 goals for England. One of his most famous goals was a 25-yard strike that gave United a 1-0 win over Barcelona in the second leg of the 2008 Champions League semi-final.

Life after playing

Lampard and Gerrard both moved into management. Lampard took charge of Derby County in 2018 and was appointed Chelsea manager in 2019. Gerrard became Rangers manager in 2018 and led the club to the 2020–21 Scottish Premiership title without losing a league match, collecting 102 points and conceding only 13 goals.