Frank Lampard reveals top five midfielders he played against

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Former Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard has today revealed the five midfield players he considers to be the toughest he ever faced during his career.

Lampard made 609 Premier League appearances during his career, the third-most of any player throughout the Premier League era with only Ryan Giggs and Gareth Barry having made more.

He is also the highest goalscoring midfielder having bagged 177 strikes for West Ham, Chelsea and Manchester City and is considered to be one of the finest players England have produced in recent years. But, as Lampard reveals, there were players even he struggled against.

Included in his list is soon-to-depart Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure, who Lampard also played alongside during his loan spell at the Etihad. According to the former West Ham and England midfielder, when Toure was at his best he was a game-changer.

“I would put Yaya Toure in the top five of the toughest midfield opponents I faced in my career, and at his peak he could change games on his own,” Lampard told the BBC.

“Steven Gerrard probably edges it as the best I have played against, for his consistency over the years, but Yaya is up there along with Roy Keane, Patrick Vieira and Paul Scholes – which shows how highly I rate him.

“Every midfielder has different attributes but the best players are the ones you fear, and I certainly did that when I was up against Yaya.

“Even some of the very best play within themselves slightly, but he didn’t. He would hurt you by going forward and by scoring goals at the end of it, which is always a great trait that not many midfield players have.”

Signed in 2010 from Barcelona in a £24m transfer deal, Toure helped City win their first Premier League title two years later before scoring 20 top-flight goals in the 2013/14 campaign to ensure the North West side secured their second.

“Along with David Silva and Sergio Aguero, who followed him to Manchester, he was bought to be one of City’s first superstars and he has lived up to that with the way he has performed down the years,” added Lampard, who became Toure’s teammate upon joining City on loan during the 14/15 season.

The former Chelsea midfielder continued: “As a team-mate, it was Yaya’s presence that counted more than anything else in the dressing room.

“I did not find him to be a big speaker – he was quite private and he is a family man off the pitch.

“Some people might take it as a negative that he did not say much but I think it is just his personality. Some players are like that, and I don’t mind it.

“The way he was a big influence was the way he trained and the way he played. That gave him an aura.

“When I walked into the City dressing room, I could sense it straight away that he was one of the main characters there, on and off the pitch.”

Where are they now? Frank Lampard’s top five

Yaya Toure is still at Manchester City, but will be leaving at the end of the current campaign. Roy Keane is currently assistant manager to Martin O’Neill for the Republic of Ireland national team following spells in charge of both Sunderland and Ipswich.

Patrick Vieira enjoyed an illustrious playing career that saw him turn out in Serie A for both Juventus and Inter Milan. He was a key man in the early successes of the Arsene Wenger era at Arsenal and is currently the head coach for Major League Soccer’s New York City FC.

Paul Scholes was one of the famous ‘class of 95’ that also included the likes of Ryan Giggs, Nicky Butt, Gary and Phil Neville and a certain David Beckham. He is currently the co-owner of Salford City and a pundit for BT Sport.

Lampard labelled Steven Gerrard as the best midfielder he ever faced. He was instrumental in the Reds’ famous Champions League final turn-around in 2005 and has just been appointed manager of Rangers.