Zinedine Zidane has every right to be considered the greatest midfielder football has ever seen. The France and Real Madrid legend was elegance personified at his absolute best, winning every major team honour available to him, as well as claiming the highly-prized Ballon d'Or in 1998.
His achievements for club and country have secured his place among football's immortals, with the two-footed sensation leaving a lasting mark on the global game. Virtually every midfielder who ever crossed paths with him held him in huge esteem. Because of his standing in the sport, praise from Zidane carries enormous weight whenever he chooses to speak glowingly about another player.
That was exactly the case when Zidane described one of England's finest talents as 'the best in the world' back in 2009. Making the compliment even more striking, two of football's all-time greats - Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo - were already operating at an extraordinary level at that point.
Zinedine Zidane Believed England Star Was Better Than Messi & Ronaldo
Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Zidane
Zidane was referring to Liverpool icon, Steven Gerrard. The all-action midfielder was outstanding as the Reds eliminated Zidane's former side Real Madrid from the Champions League 5-0 on aggregate in 2009. Later that year, the French great hailed the England international as the best on the planet:
"Is he the best in the world? He might not get the attention of [Lionel] Messi and Ronaldo but, yes, I think he just might be."
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Ronaldo had won football's biggest individual honour - the Ballon d'Or - the previous year, while Messi went on to collect the prize in 2009. The pair were just beginning a rivalry that would see them battle to be recognised as the greatest player ever for more than a decade, but Zidane still put Gerrard above them, adding:
"If you don't have a player like Steven Gerrard, who is the engine room, it can affect the whole team.
"When we were winning league titles and European Cups at Real, I always said Claude Makelele was our most important player. There is no way myself, [Luis] Figo or Raúl would have been able to do what we did without Claude and the same goes for Liverpool and Gerrard."
Expanding on the qualities Gerrard brought to the club he grew up supporting, Zizou added: "He has great passing ability, can tackle and scores goals, but most importantly, he gives the players around him confidence and belief. You can't learn that – players like him are just born with that presence."
Gerrard's Reaction to Zidane's 'Best in the World' Praise
Steven Gerrard
Years after Zidane first delivered that compliment, Gerrard was asked about it during an interview with Rio Ferdinand. When asked if he knew who had said those words about him, he immediately replied: "Zidane, because I've read that quote about a million times.
"He's actually done me a nice message in a book that was given to me as a farewell present. He's on page one and that message is on page one from him.
"I'm very flattered, and I'm very humbled for him to say that."
The admiration between the two iconic midfielders is obvious. There was even a possibility that they could have played together at Real Madrid, had Gerrard not remained fiercely loyal to Liverpool during a career that eventually saw him make more than 700 appearances in the famous red shirt.
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