Jamie Carragher has selected the best midfielders in the Premier League, including Roy Keane, Kevin De Bruyne and Patrick Vieira, with Liverpool great Steven Gerrard leading the way.
Steven Gerrard rises to the top of Jamie Carragher’s list
Jamie Carragher has declared his former Liverpool teammate Steven Gerrard the best midfielder in Premier League history, narrowly naming him ahead of Roy Keane.
The Sky Sports pundit was tasked with naming an elite set of central midfielders and his list was full of league champions and PFA Player of the Year winners. Gerrard was the only player on the list who had not won a Premier League, but that did not negatively affect his stock.
The former Red is widely regarded as one of the best players to ever play his position, and also topped Carragher’s list. Keane, sitting alongside Carragher in the studio, was a back-to-back winner during his time as Manchester United captain, but had to settle for second place.
Carragher defended the decision to put Gerrard in the top flight, citing his record eight appearances in the PFA Team of the Year and suggesting that no other midfielder would have brought Liverpool closer to the title than Gerrard.
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“From another perspective, we didn’t win the league. We wanted to win it, but there were other players on the list, so I don’t think we could have won the league even if we put them in there instead of Steven Gerrard,” he told Sky Sports.
Kevin De Bruyne was chosen in third place. The Manchester City great left the Etihad last summer after 11 seasons and two-time PFA Player of the Year award. Carragher claimed the Belgian was the “best passer” to play in the top flight and De Bruyne was the “difference” as City chased Liverpool in the title race.
Keane himself confessed that he would have been the frontrunner had De Bruyne remained on the list, and admitted that he looked at him with envy given his abilities. “It’s a matter of opinion, but if you think about the greatest midfielder in the Premier League, he’s the first one that comes to mind,” he said.
Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira are both named in the top five (Image: Manchester United via Getty Images)
Former Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira won three titles with the Invincibles. He was selected in fourth place ahead of Frank Lampard in fifth place. The Chelsea star was renowned for his ability to score goals from midfield and ultimately left the Blues as their all-time top scorer.
N’Golo Kante came out of nowhere to help Leicester win the title in 2016, before moving to Chelsea the following year and winning the league again with the Blues. His energy and ability to break up play was considered unique and he was compared to Claude Makelele.
United great Paul Scholes was selected seventh. Keane described him as a “great player and team-mate” who “brought the X-factor”, but said his goal-scoring ability was immense.
Yaya Toure, who many consider to have had the biggest influence on City’s title win in 2014, was chosen eighth. Carragher confessed that when he was at his best, it was “like a cheat code”. He edged out Rodri, the only Ballon d’Or winner on the list, with Cesc Fabregas completing the top ten.
Carragher’s top 10 Premier League midfielders
1. Gerrard
2. Keene
3. De Bruyne
4. Vieira
5. Lampard
6. Singing
7. Scholes
8. Tours
9. Rodri
10. Fabregas
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