{"id":654491,"date":"2025-12-25T18:00:35","date_gmt":"2025-12-25T18:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/654491\/"},"modified":"2025-12-25T18:00:35","modified_gmt":"2025-12-25T18:00:35","slug":"my-england-teammate-was-more-gifted-than-gerrard-lampard-and-scholes-football","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/654491\/","title":{"rendered":"My England teammate was more gifted than Gerrard, Lampard and Scholes | Football"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\"Liverpool
\n\t\tLiverpool legend Steven Gerrard (Picture: Getty)<\/p>\n

Ledley King says one of his England teammates was \u2018naturally better\u2019 and \u2018more gifted\u2019 than Steven Gerrard<\/a>, Frank Lampard<\/a> and Paul Scholes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Gerrard, Lampard and Scholes are considered three of the best midfielders England have ever produced.<\/p>\n

Gerrard was Liverpool<\/a>\u2019s talisman for over a decade, making more than 700 appearances for the Reds across his 17-year spell at Anfield.<\/p>\n

Lampard is arguably Chelsea<\/a>\u2019s greatest ever player, having won three league titles and the Champions League<\/a> at Stamford Bridge and scoring more Premier League goals than any other midfielder in history.<\/p>\n

Scholes, meanwhile, is one of the most decorated players of all time, picking up 25 trophies during his long spell at Manchester United<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Ex-England defender King says Gerrard, Lampard and Scholes were all \u2018incredible players\u2019 but rates Joe Cole as his most \u2018naturally gifted\u2019 teammate.<\/p>\n

Cole enjoyed the most fruitful period of his career at Chelsea, winning three Premier League titles and three domestic cups at Stamford Bridge.<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Premier
\n\t\tEx-Tottenham and England defender Ledley King (Picture: Getty)<\/p>\n

Cole, a talented attacking player who earned 56 caps for England, also had spells at West Ham and Liverpool.<\/p>\n

\u2018I want to see match-winners and players that get people off their seats,\u2019 King told BetMGM<\/strong><\/a>. \u2018The one for me was Joe Cole, who I can, hand on heart, say was the most naturally gifted English player that I played with.<\/p>\n

\u2018Wayne Rooney was probably the best. He had a mixture of so many different attributes: power, strength and tenacity but, in terms of just natural ability, Joe Cole was the best.<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Chelsea
\n\t\tJoe Cole, left, with fellow Chelsea great Frank Lampard, right (Picture: Getty)<\/p>\n

\u2018Joe went to Chelsea and it changed his game. He turned into a very much a team player and it wasn\u2019t the same Joe that I remember when he was 17, who just played the game for fun and on pure instinct.<\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019m sure he\u2019d probably say the same thing if he looks back on all that he\u2019s achieved \u2013 he could have actually been even better than he was.<\/p>\n

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\u2018[Steven] Gerrard, [Frank] Lampard and [Paul] Scholes were incredible players, don\u2019t get me wrong, but at that age Joe was pure magic.<\/p>\n

\u2018He was more natural than Stevie G [Steven Gerrard]. Stevie could do everything, but Joe was just a magician of a player. He was definitely different in that respect from most English players that we had at that time.<\/p>\n

\u2018When he was 16 or 17 years old, Joe was different to everyone. He was different from all the English kids, he played like he was Brazilian.\u2019<\/p>\n

Since retiring in 2018, Cole has become a popular pundit, mainly appearing on TNT Sports<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For more stories like this,\u00a0check our sport page<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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\nMORE: Liverpool and England legend Steven Gerrard names his best five teammates<\/a><\/p>\n

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\nMORE: Why Premier League is breaking Boxing Day tradition with only one football match<\/a><\/p>\n


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