Joey Barton reveals which player he thinks was 'miles above' the others in the Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Paul Scholes debate as he suggests 'it's not even close'

Joey Barton has revealed that he believes there is a clear winner in the debate between who was the greater player out of Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Paul Scholes.

The former Newcastle United midfielder had the privelege of playing against all three during his time in the Premier League.

However, when speaking on his podcast, Common Sense with Joey Barton, the former Magpie admitted that he'd rather play against two out of the three.

'I don't even think this is close, you know. I don't even think this is close,' he said.

A lot of people think this is really close, really close. It's not.'

Barton, who has recently been accused of 'bullying' a 17-year-old women's goalkeeper after mocking a mistake in the cup final, continued to reveal who he believes is the better player.

'Steven Gerrard was night and day miles above Frank Lampard,' he continued.

'Paul Scholes was a phenomenal player.' 

Barton continued to clarify his comments regarding Lampard, ensuring that he does not come across as disrespectful to his former England colleague.

He said: 'I'm not knocking Frank. He's got an incredible goal scoring record. He's a fantastic player, there's no doubting that.'

The controversial former player then discussed why he believes that Gerrard is the best of the trio.

'Actually he (Lampard) couldn't do what Gerrard could do. Gerrard could literally do everything. All different facets of the game. Frank couldn't. He could do lots of them really well but couldn't do what Steven could do.

'I think Scholes falls into that category, as good as he was. 

'I just don't think, having played against them all, having studied them all, competed heavily against them all - I'd rather play against the other two before Steven Gerrard.'

Barton finalised by remembering his playing days, admitting that he enjoyed playing against Liverpool and Gerrard despite putting him top of his rankings.

'I always played well against Liverpool and Gerrard but he was a phenomenal athlete. 

'People don't realise how big he is, how tall he is, how quick he was, how big his legs were. He was a big man.'