Chelsea icon John Terry shared the pitch with some of the greatest Premier League midfielders of all time during his trophy-laden career at Stamford Bridge.
The former central defender played alongside the likes of Frank Lampard, Michael Essien, Claude Makelele and Kevin De Bruyne, to name a few, while Premier League greats Steven Gerrard, Paul Scholes and Patrick Vieira lined up against him.
Terry had a plethora of quality options to choose from when naming his 10 greatest midfielders in Premier League history and included his three former Chelsea teammates in his star-studded list.
10-6: Silva, Keane, Toure, Fabregas, Vieira
Yaya Toure
Before presenting his ranking, Terry set out his criteria, saying he focused on his era of players and on longevity:
“What I think you’ll see consistently throughout mine is, number one, it’s my era of players and also, more importantly, longevity plays a big part. And the reason I say that, to do it at the very top like many of those have, I think it’s very important and these guys certainly done it.”
At number 10, Terry went with former Manchester City midfielder David Silva, who spent a decade at the Etihad Stadium, winning four Premier League titles and two FA Cups.
Former Manchester United and Ireland midfielder Roy Keane came in ninth, despite having one of the most decorated careers in Premier League history, with eight league titles and four FA Cups to his name.
At eighth, Terry named another Manchester City icon, Yaya Toure, who developed into a goalscoring midfielder during his spell at the Etihad Stadium, netting 20 times in the 2013-14 campaign.
Terry picked his former Chelsea teammate Cesc Fabregas at seventh. The former Arsenal midfielder spent five seasons at Stamford Bridge from 2014 to 2019, including three alongside Terry.
Arsenal invincible Patrick Vieira came in sixth in Terry’s ranking. The Frenchman lifted three Premier League titles during his time at Arsenal, as well as four FA Cups.
5-1: De Bruyne, Scholes, Gerrard, Lampard, Giggs
Ryan Giggs
Terry named his former Chelsea teammate Kevin De Bruyne as the fifth greatest midfielder in Premier League history. The Belgium international spent two years with Chelsea before blossoming into an elite playmaker at Manchester City.
Manchester United icon Paul Scholes came in fourth in Terry’s ranking. Scholes spent his entire playing career at Old Trafford, winning 11 Premier League titles and two Champions League trophies.
In third, Terry picked Liverpool icon Steven Gerrard, who never won the Premier League title but is still regarded as one of the best midfielders of his era, having led the Anfield side to the 2005 Champions League title.
Somewhat surprisingly, Terry placed his former Chelsea teammate Frank Lampard second, with Manchester United great Ryan Giggs topping his ranking.
Giggs spent his entire career at Old Trafford and holds the record for the most Premier League titles, with 11.
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