Gary Neville risks angering Liverpool fans with contentious Premier League claim

Gary Neville ranked Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard only fourth in his Premier League midfielders list, while taking a "bias" dig at Jamie Carragher, who placed the Reds icon first

Gary Neville has offered his opinion(Image: Getty Images)

Gary Neville has countered Jamie Carragher's ranking of the finest central midfielders by placing Roy Keane at the summit, while controversially positioning Steven Gerrard in fourth spot.

The Manchester United icon insisted he "wasn't as biased" as his Sky Sports counterpart, who selected his long-serving Liverpool colleague as his No. 1 choice. However, Neville followed suit by choosing a former team-mate in Keane, with Paul Scholes also featuring in his top three.

Neville acknowledged that he preferred to "think more traditionally" about the role and consequently excluded the likes of David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne, who featured third in Carragher's rankings, as they operated more as No. 10s rather than box-to-box midfielders.

The pundit was adamant that nobody but his former skipper deserved to be regarded as the Premier League's finest midfielder, placing him above Arsenal icon Patrick Vieira.

The pair were the driving forces for their respective sides during the late 1990s and early 2000s as United and Arsenal competed for multiple titles and trophies.

Yet Neville opted for Keane, declaring on his podcast: "I don't think there's ever been a more influential football player in the Premier League. Full stop. In fact, I'm absolutely convinced there's not.

Steven Gerrard is one of the Premier League's greatest ever midfielders(Image: Getty Images)

"I've never seen anybody drive a team forward with the standards that he had. An incredible attacking player, similar traits to Vieira, but I think a level up when it comes to goalscoring."

Neville added: "I think if Jamie Carragher is selecting the No 1 central midfield player in Premier League history, you can't choose anybody else but Roy Keane, really, and I don't think many would."

After placing Vieira as his second choice, he selected Scholes in third position, calling him the "best player that I ever played with at Manchester United."

His ranking was influenced by Scholes' adaptability, which saw him deployed as a forward at times, only settling into central midfield during certain phases of his career.

Gerrard, whom Carragher crowned as his top selection, came fourth on Neville's list. Once more, he cited his ability to operate across multiple positions as a factor in his placement. The ex-United defender commented: "He's a monumental player, but played in different positions."

Completing his top five was Rodri, whose accomplishments at Manchester City cannot be overlooked. The Spanish midfielder has secured four league championships and netted the decisive goal in the Champions League final that sealed his team's treble triumph.

Neville concedes he initially had reservations, but has witnessed his transformation into an elite performer.

He commented: "When he first came to the Premier League, I wasn't actually that convinced in that first season then all of a sudden he turned into a very special midfield player at the heart of a treble-winning team. He's been in the Premier League for roughly five years and if he had been in here for 10-12 years then he'd be challenging for the players that I'm going to name in one, two and three."