“He is just total and utter genius” – Michael Owen chooses between Scholes, Gerrard and Lampard in greatest ever Premier League midfielder debate

The greatest-ever Premier League midfielder debate between Paul Scholes, Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard has been going on for quite some time. Former Liverpool striker Michael Owen has weighed in on it, picking Gerrard as the best among the trio.

Owen was fortunate enough to play with and against the three legendary midfielders across club and international football. The Englishman showered praise on the trio while speaking on The Greatest Game with Jamie Carragher podcast.

Owen said:

“If you watch Scholesy in training, your tongue is hanging out. He can give you the eyes, you can think he’s heading it that way and he’ll almost do a reverse spinner off the other side of his head. He can drop a ball on a sixpence. He is just total and utter genius.

“But there’s that and there’s the actual practicalities of playing on a big pitch where you need size, strength, substance, running ability, all these things. And if you play one v one, you against you, Stevie against any of the names that you’ve played, I think he would eat them for dinner.

“Someone like Scholesy obviously had different attributes. I mean, unbelievable the way he changed his game from being a bombing midfielder scoring to a quarterback. Total genius.

“Frank Lampard, who can question his goalscoring and how he got every ounce out of his ability?"

Michael Owen then proceeded to say he would pick Gerrard over Lampard and Scholes. Declaring his verdict, the former Ballon d'Or winner said:

“But to me, Stevie’s on a different level than anything I’ve seen or played with and as you’ve said, I’m not blowing smoke up my a***, I’ve played with some great Man United players, Liverpool players, Real Madrid, England.

“Put it this way. If i’m saying tomorrow rewind the clock, you’re going into battle now, you’re playing in the Champions League final, who’s your first pick? I’d have Steven Gerrard as my first pick out of anyone.”

Paul Scholes, Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard's brief club stats

The Liverpool legend is undoubted one of the greatest midfielders the football has witnessed

Known for his incredible vision and passing range, Paul Scholes was influential in Manchester United's success under Sir Alex Ferguson. The midfielder spent his entire career at Old Trafford, bagging 152 goals and 76 assists in 713 games.

Steven Gerrard recorded 191 goals and 165 assists in 749 games for Liverpool and LA Galaxy. Frank Lampard, on the other hand, bagged 267 goals and 176 assists in 893 games for Chelsea, West Ham, Manchester City and New York City.