Gary Lineker has hit back at Andrea Pirlo for his "insulting" comments about England's midfielders in the wake of Euro 2020.
The Three Lions progressed to the final of the tournament earlier this summer but were defeated by Italy on penalties.
Gareth Southgate relied on a midfield duo of Kalvin Phillips and Declan Rice which worked to great effect throughout much of the Euros.
Leeds United's Phillips is affectionately known as the 'Yorkshire Pirlo' on account of playing a similar, deep-lying role to the Italy legend.
But Pirlo himself believes that is where the similarities end, as he claims England do not have any central midfielders capable of dictating play.
"In England, there’s never been this kind of player," he told The Athletic earlier this week. "There have been great midfielders over the years with different skills.
"There’s the boy at Leeds who’s a bit of a regista, but… we’re a bit different. He doesn’t have the same characteristics I had. You’ve always had box-to-box midfielders, like Frank Lampard."
Lineker strongly disagrees with Pirlo's claim about the Three Lions' crop of midfielders and took to Twitter to write: "How insulting."
Expanding on why he has taken issue with the AC Milan and Juventus legend's comments, the former England striker added: "It’s just a bit silly to say that.
"All players are different. We don’t have a (Lionel) Messi or a (Diego) Maradona either, but they’re all very very young and have enormous potential."
Phillips, 25, is considered one of Leeds' most-important players while 22-year-old Rice serves as West Ham's vice-captain and is linked with a big-money transfer to Manchester United or Chelsea.
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The duo received lavish praise throughout Euro 2020 and Southgate picked them out as key performers ahead of the final versus the Azzurri.
"There are benefits to having experience in big matches and sometimes there are benefits for it all being fresh and exciting and new," said the England boss.
"Declan and Kalvin in particular have adapted so well to that challenge. They have already played against some outstanding players.
"We have trust in all of our players. This effort has been about the whole squad and that will continue.
"When you are coaching a team you watch everything and you have to decide the most important information for the players and not flood them too much."
Roy Keane was also full of praise for the pair and told ITV : "Rice is going to get better. Of course, he is. He has got to improve in terms of what he does in possession particularly.
"Phillips, two seasons ago, he was playing in the Championship. These lads will get better."
