Steven Gerrard is one of the most influential figures in the history of English football. The number of playground screamers scored after bellowing the Liverpool legend’s name only serves to paint a picture of a player who left a telling impact on both football and society as a whole.
Nowadays, however, the playground is full of budding talents raising their arms and mimicking the celebration of Jude Bellingham, who has firmly established himself as England’s talisman for the foreseeable future.
Comparing the two is never going to be easy, but that’s exactly what we’re going to do.
Look, we have to start here. Gerrard enjoyed a professional career which spanned 19 years, whereas Bellingham has just finished his fifth season of senior football.
Not only was Gerrard kicking about for so long, but he spent the vast majority of his career at an incredibly high level. He was a regular starter at one of the biggest clubs in the world for close to 15 years, which is the sign of a truly special player.
Bellingham is absolutely on his way to matching that sort of accomplishment, but for now, he has to take a step back and appreciate Gerrard‘s accomplishments.
|
Player |
Games played |
Goals |
Assists |
Goals and assists |
Goals-per-game |
Assists-per-game |
Goals and assists-per-game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Jude Bellingham |
247 |
54 |
45 |
99 |
0.22 |
0.18 |
0.40 |
|
Steven Gerrard |
863 |
212 |
192 |
404 |
0.25 |
0.22 |
0.47 |
Despite the vast difference in games played, a quick glance at the per-game statistics show just how similar these two players are in terms of output.
Based on what he offered per game, Gerrard just about edges this one, not least because he recorded those numbers across a 19-year career. Bellingham may well get there one day, but for now, the Liverpool hero takes the crown.
2005/06 saw Gerrard rack up the individual honours across both the Premier League and Europe as the Liverpool hero firmly established himself as a key player for his beloved Reds. However, while widely recognised as a superstar, there were never any real claims that he was the best player in the world at that time.
Bellingham, who may not even yet be in his prime, has a genuine case to be considered the best player on the planet right now, which is an argument Gerrard never managed to forge for himself.
With Bellingham still only 20 years old, he could conceivably maintain this level with Real Madrid for at least another…
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