Manchester United legend Paul Scholes has caused quite the stir by leaving Chelsea star Moises Caicedo out of his top five midfielders in the world.
His former teammate Gary Neville recently praised Caicedo, dubbing him as the best midfielder in England.
However, Scholes does not appear to be on the same page after naming five other midfielders who he thinks are better than the Chelsea man.
That list includes one player from United and Chelsea’s Premier League rivals Liverpool.
Liverpool midfielder Alexis Mac Allister with hands on hip
Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images
Chelsea star Moises Caicedo superior to Alexis Mac Allister
There was no room for Caicedo in Scholes’ top five, but the retired England international did have space for Alexis Mac Allister. How and why are questions Chelsea fans have been asking themselves.
The above is not to say that Mac Allister is a terrible midfielder, but the Argentine does not impact games the same way that Caicedo does at Stamford Bridge and away from home.
When it comes to winning the ball back, Caicedo is unrivalled. This season, the 23-year-old is averaging four tackles per league match, which is incredible. Mac Allister, in contrast, is only averaging 1.2.
Caicedo also averages more passes and has a higher success rate compared to the Liverpool star.
Player Games Minutes Goals Assists Tackles per game Interceptions per game Average passes per game Pass success rate
Moises Caicedo 7 630 3 0 4 2.6 62.3 91.3%
Alexis Mac Allister 6 391 0 1 1.2 0.8 37.8 85.5%
Via Moises Caicedo’s WhoScored and Alexis Mac Allister’s WhoScored pages
It is early in the campaign, but Caicedo has been the better player and probably is the better player overall.
Liverpool fans who agree will feel that should be the case. After all, the Reds only paid £35m for Mac Allister’s signature, while Chelsea paid £115m for Caicedo’s.
Caicedo made a big announcement on Monday, confirming that he has parted ways with his representatives.
Moises Caicedo poses with the Player of the Match award after Benfica SL v Chelsea FC: Round Of 16 - FIFA Club World Cup 2025
Photo by Steph Chambers – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images
The rest of Paul Scholes’ top five
Scholes named his top five midfielders in football on an episode of The Good, The Bad & The Football, and the rest of the list was not too controversial.
Frenkie de Jong, Vitinha, Rodri and Pedri completed Scholes’ list. They are all good midfielders, but Chelsea fans would not take any of them over Caicedo right now.