Liverpool have had some truly amazing players over the years.
Indeed, Anfield has been home to some of football’s all-time greats. Mohamed Salah could win a Ballon d’Or this year, while Virgil van Dijk is the best defender in the world according to some.
Historically, Liverpool have had some amazing players too.
Ian Rush is one of the greatest finishers ever, while Luis Suarez was an all-time great as well.
However, perhaps Liverpool’s greatest ever player was Steven Gerrard.
Speaking to Goal, Kostas Tsimikas has been ranking and rating some of football’s all-time greats, and he made an interesting claim about the former Liverpool captain.
Liverpool' Steven Gerrard celebrates aft
Photo credit should read STEVE PARKIN/AFP via Getty Images
Kostas Tsimikas picks Steven Gerrard over Zinedine Zidane
Tsimikas was asked to rank some of the best players in modern history.
Initially, this was a blind ranking, but Tsimikas wasn’t happy with the way things turned out, so he was quick to set the record straight.
Tsimikas ultimately picked Lionel Messi at the top of his pile – understandably so, while he picked Steven Gerrard in second place ahead of the likes of Zinedine Zidane and Kaka.
Adrien Rabiot believes Gerrard is the greatest player ever, while Rafa Benitez has reserved similar praise for Gerrard in the past too.
Steven Gerrard compared to Zinedine Zidane
Tsimikas picked Gerrard over Zidane, but it does feel as though there may be some element of bias coming through here.
Indeed, as a Liverpool player, Tsimikas has that affection for Gerrard, but, in terms of legacy, it has to be said that Zidane is ahead of the former England star.
Category Steven Gerrard Zinedine Zidane
Club Games Played 749 692
Club Goals Scored 191 125
International Caps 114 108
International Goals 21 31
League Titles 0 3
Domestic Cup Wins 5 0
Champions League Titles 1 1
World Cup wins 0 1
Ballon d’Or Wins 0 1
Zidane, quite simply achieved more in his career than Gerrard, owing to his World Cup win and his Ballon d’Or win but there’s no shame in that. After all, the Frenchman is one of the most decorated footballers of all-time.
Regardless of who you prefer, one thing is for sure, a midfield made up of Zidane and Gerrard would be one of the greatest in the history of world football.