Chelsea legend John Terry might be the gold standard for many Premier League purists, but Virgil van Dijk isn’t afraid to shuffle the deck when it comes to the greatest defenders to ever grace the English game.
John Terry remains the most successful captain in Chelsea history. Over a senior career at Stamford Bridge spanning 19 seasons and 717 appearances, he led the Blues to five Premier League titles, five FA Cups, three League Cups, and both the Champions League and Europa League trophies.
It goes further than that, too. Terry anchored the legendary 2004/05 defense that conceded only 15 goals, which is a record that still stands today.
As well as this, he is the highest-scoring defender in Premier League history with 41 goals.
Despite all of this, Virgil van Dijk puts Terry only fourth on his list of Premier League centre-backs.
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Virgil van Dijk’s opinion of Chelsea legend John Terry
Speaking to Rio Ferdinand back in 2022 (via The Mirror), Virgil van Dijk picked Terry as the fourth best Premier League centre-back ever.
The likes of Rio Ferdinand, Vincent Kompany and Jaap Stam all featured ahead of him on the list.
“He achieved so much – I think he has the record for clean sheets. Also one of the centre-backs you look at for where you want to be as a youngster.”
Two years later and John Terry claimed he was better than Van Dijk, only speaking when Paolo Maldini was mentioned in an interview.
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Virgil van Dijk ranks John Terry 4th in his Premier League centre-back rankings
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Jermaine Pennant’s argument about John Terry and Van Dijk
Speaking on TalkSPORT, Jermaine Pennant embarrassed himself by claiming that Van Dijk is a better defender than John Terry was during his playing days.
Pennant claimed that Virgil van Dijk has scored more goals than defenders like Terry. In reality, John Terry is the highest-scoring defender in Premier League history with 41 goals.
“I think he is out of all the players you’ve named, look at the age of Van Dijk now… he’s 34.
“At 34, Rio was at Queen Park Rangers while Van Dijk is at Liverpool playing competitive football, playing Champions League and still scoring.
“He’s scored more goals than all the defenders you’ve named so how can you disrespect Virgil like that. If you said which one am I having… I’m picking Van Dijk.
“Do you know how many Premier League games John Terry played at 34… he was in the under 21s.
“Terry is a legend but if you’re saying as a defender 1 v 1, who would I want to run up against, I’d say John Terry everyday of the week. I mean, since when did he come second in the Ballon Dor.”
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