Zidane fires back at Ferguson over Gerrard ‘top, top’ snub

Trust Zinedine Zidane to glide into a debate and stick the landing. When Sir Alex Ferguson suggested in his 2013 autobiography that Steven Gerrard wasn’t a “top, top player”, the French maestro didn’t hang about: he rated Gerrard among the very best on the planet for a spell and found the Scot’s assessment, frankly, off-beam. Coming from a man who defined midfield excellence, that carries serious weight.

Zizou’s verdict: class recognising class

Zidane has seen it all, done it all, and worn the t-shirt twice. His take? For two or three prime years, Gerrard set the standard in midfield — power, passing, goals, leadership, the lot. He even argued that had Gerrard chosen to leave Anfield in that window, Europe’s elite would have queued round the block. And while reports suggest the pair only crossed paths on the pitch once, with Zidane edging that encounter, he still couldn’t fathom Ferguson’s line that Gerrard wasn’t truly elite. In Zidane’s view, that was a rare miss from the great man in the opposing dugout.

Fergie’s stance — and why it stuck in the craw

Ferguson’s original remark — that he was among the few who didn’t class Gerrard as a “top, top player” — came in print a decade ago and has been debated ever since. You can respect the most decorated manager of the Premier League era and still say this was a hot take that didn’t age well. The eye test, the medals, the moments… they all paint a different picture.

The Anfield case file: legacy written in bold

Gerrard was Liverpool through and through: academy graduate, captain, and heartbeat. He dragged the Reds to the 2005 miracle in Istanbul, sparking a comeback from three down against AC Milan to lift the European Cup. A year later, he unleashed that thunderbolt against West Ham in the FA Cup final — a goal etched into English football folklore. Domestically, he hoovered up FA Cups and League Cups while setting the standard for a generation of midfielders.

By the club’s own pantheon he’s right up there: only Ian Callaghan (841) and Jamie Carragher (737) made more Liverpool appearances than Gerrard’s 710. That’s not just longevity — that’s influence, stature, and responsibility carried season after season.

The numbers behind the legend

Premier League record: 504 appearances, 120 goals, 92 assists. Across those outings, Liverpool won 255 times and lost 119, with Gerrard picking up six Player of the Month awards. Those aren’t just nice round figures; they’re proof of a match-winner who delivered across eras and managers.

Against Manchester United: the fiercest yardstick

Nothing measures a Liverpool captain quite like the United rivalry. Gerrard faced them 35 times: 13 wins, 2 draws, 20 defeats; 9 goals, 6 assists, and a disciplinary ledger of 6 yellows and 2 reds. Here’s a quirky one: he lost more games to United (20) than to any other team in his career — a nugget that says plenty about the ferocity of that fixture as much as it does the era’s balance of power.

Context matters: peak levels and leadership

Was he Lampard? Was he Scholes? Truth is, Gerrard was Gerrard — a one-man tide-turner who could snap into a tackle, ping a 50-yarder onto a sixpence, and lash one in from 30 yards, all while dragging team-mates up a level. Peak-for-peak, it’s hardly outlandish — as Zidane argued — to call him the best midfielder in the world for a spell. Managers across Europe coveted him, and with good reason.

Where it leaves the debate

Ferguson’s track record makes his opinions worth listening to; Zidane’s pedigree makes his rebuttal hard to dismiss. When a player regarded by many as the greatest modern midfielder says Gerrard belonged at the very top, it’s more than a polite nod — it’s peer-reviewed greatness.

These days Gerrard is steering the ship at Al-Ettifaq, his playing legacy long since secure. And while the debate will rumble on — as all the best pub arguments do — the balance of evidence, and the judgement of a certain French genius, leans heavily in the Scouser’s favour.

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Final whistle

Call it what you like — eye test, big moments, or the word of Zizou — but Gerrard wasn’t just “very good”. At his apex, he was the bloke everyone else feared. On that, Zidane didn’t just join the debate; he settled it.