Shortly after Frank Lampard announced his retirement from football, the long-running debate of who was a better midfielder, him or Steven Gerrard, reared its head again.
Gerrard hung up his boots just a few weeks ago himself, so perhaps it is the best time to consider that question now that everyone can look back on their careers.
There is no doubt that Lampard was more successful than Gerrard. The 38-year-old won 11 major trophies, including three Premier League titles, during a 13-year spell at Chelsea.
His Scouse counterpart won every trophy in club football in a 17-year stay at his boyhood club Liverpool, and was pivotal in the Reds claiming the Champions League crown in 2005, but the league title eluded him.
In terms of comparing the two, firstly it needs to be mentioned that Lampard had two years on Gerrard and he played more Premier League games (609) than his rival, who featured 504 times in the top flight.
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With that in mind, the ex-Chelsea star racked up 177 league goals, while Gerrard found the back of the net on 120 occasions.
It was heavily debated whether the two could play alongside one another at England level, and they did so 73 times, reports BBC Sport.
Opta statistics show that the Three Lions won more than 45 games with the pair playing together in midfield, which is more victories than they picked up individually, but Gerrard earned more England triumphs on his own than Lampard did.
Many fans have taken to Twitter to give their views on the debate, and plenty of them have even suggested that the question is irrelevant because a certain Manchester United star trumps them both…
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