Rio Ferdinand wades into Gerrard-Scholes-Lampard debate as Man Utd icon reveals which ex-England team-mate was ‘genius’

RIO FERDINAND believes Paul Scholes was a better player than Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard.

The former centre-back played with all three players at international level, while he spent 11 years alongside Scholes at Manchester United.

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Ferdinand, 45, revealed Scholes was the most enjoyable team-mate he played with out of the three, praising his ability to both dictate and decide a match.

He told : "It's hard isn't it.

"The one I enjoyed playing with the most was Scholesy. I could give the ball to Scholesy and shout a name. He wouldn't look, but still be able to find them.

"He would do crazy stuff and even opposing players were going to me 'does he do this every day?'."

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"It was like we were at the cinema watching someone perform. What I loved about him is he could dictate a game, decide a game and he got other people playing better.

"So those elements are where you think wow! He would never be ruffled in any situation. I thought he was a genius."

Ferdinand and Scholes enoyed hhe success together at Old Trafford, winning six Premier League titles and the Champions League.

Much of that was down to a talented squad, led by Sir Alex Ferguson.

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Ferdinand also spoke about how his team-mates reacted to Ferguson's retirement, revealing Robin van Persie was left gobsmacked.

He said: "The WhatsApp messages started getting crazy the night before the news hit the media. And in the morning, everyone is texting each other that the manager is leaving.

"I’ll never forget the moment. The air almost sapped out of the changing room, and everyone just looked at each other.

"I remember that Robin Van Persie signed because the manager was there, and I remember looking at him straight away, and he was almost in tears.

"Although he’s had hardly a season with the manager, he adored the gaffer. The guy was gobsmacked."

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