‘He had everything’: Wayne Rooney calls former teammate ‘most complete’ midfielder

Last Updated on 20 March 2026

Wayne Rooney shared a dressing room with some of football’s greatest midfielders. From Manchester United’s golden era to England’s star-studded squads, he saw elite talent up close.

So when Rooney speaks about midfield greatness, it carries weight. He doesn’t just judge from afar, he’s played alongside, and against, the very best. From Roy Keane, Paul Scholes to Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard, he’s experienced Premier League greatness.

And when asked to name the most complete midfielder of them all, Rooney didn’t hesitate.

Wayne Rooney lauds Steven Gerrard as a ‘complete midfield player’

Throughout his career, Rooney operated behind and alongside some of the game’s finest. At Manchester United, he thrived with the leadership of Roy Keane and the technical brilliance of Paul Scholes.

With England, he linked up with stars like Steven Gerrard and David Beckham, players who defined an era of international football. Reflecting on that experience, Rooney narrowed down his list of Premier League midfield greats.

“You’re talking about a complete midfield player, there are five really for me,” he said on The Wayne Rooney Show. “Four I played with, one I didn’t: Gerrard, Scholes, Carrick, Patrick Vieira and Lampard.”

Despite naming five elite midfielders, Rooney ultimately singled out one above all others: Steven Gerrard. “The complete midfield player out of all of them has to be Gerrard,” he said. “He could do everything.” For Rooney, Gerrard’s versatility separated him from the rest.

Why Gerrard is considered the most ‘complete’ despite missing out on the Premier League

For all his brilliance, one statistic often follows Gerrard: he never won the Premier League. Yet for many, including Rooney, that omission doesn’t weaken his legacy. If anything, it strengthens the argument for his completeness.

Unlike others on the list, Gerrard spent the majority of his career carrying a team rather than operating within a dominant system. At Liverpool, he wasn’t just a midfielder, he was the system.

He defended, created, scored and led, often within the same game. Whether it was a crunching tackle, a 30-yard strike or a perfectly weighted pass, Gerrard influenced matches in every possible way.

Crucially, he delivered in the biggest moments. From Istanbul in 2005 to countless match-winning performances in domestic and European competitions, Gerrard consistently stepped up when Liverpool needed him most. That’s what separates “great” from “complete.”