Ledley King says one of his England teammates was ‘naturally better’ and ‘more gifted’ than Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Paul Scholes.
Gerrard, Lampard and Scholes are considered three of the best midfielders England have ever produced.
Gerrard was Liverpool’s talisman for over a decade, making more than 700 appearances for the Reds across his 17-year spell at Anfield.
Lampard is arguably Chelsea’s greatest ever player, having won three league titles and the Champions League at Stamford Bridge and scoring more Premier League goals than any other midfielder in history.
Scholes, meanwhile, is one of the most decorated players of all time, picking up 25 trophies during his long spell at Manchester United.
Ex-England defender King says Gerrard, Lampard and Scholes were all ‘incredible players’ but rates Joe Cole as his most ‘naturally gifted’ teammate.
Cole enjoyed the most fruitful period of his career at Chelsea, winning three Premier League titles and three domestic cups at Stamford Bridge.
Cole, a talented attacking player who earned 56 caps for England, also had spells at West Ham and Liverpool.
‘I want to see match-winners and players that get people off their seats,’ King told BetMGM. ‘The one for me was Joe Cole, who I can, hand on heart, say was the most naturally gifted English player that I played with.
‘Wayne 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.
‘Joe went to Chelsea and it changed his game. He turned into a very much a team player and it wasn’t the same Joe that I remember when he was 17, who just played the game for fun and on pure instinct.
‘I’m sure he’d probably say the same thing if he looks back on all that he’s achieved – he could have actually been even better than he was.
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‘[Steven] Gerrard, [Frank] Lampard and [Paul] Scholes were incredible players, don’t get me wrong, but at that age Joe was pure magic.
‘He 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.
‘When 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.’
Since retiring in 2018, Cole has become a popular pundit, mainly appearing on TNT Sports.
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