Zinedine Zidane believes Liverpool's Steven Gerrard is currently the best player in the world, eclipsing Lionel Messi of Barcelona and Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo. The former France and Real Madrid midfielder saw Gerrard score twice against his old club in the Champions League during the week and said teams need players like Gerrard to be the "engine room" for the flair players to thrive, comparing the Liverpool captain to his former team-mate Claude Makelele.
"Is he the best in the world? He might not get the attention of [Lionel] Messi and Ronaldo but, yes, I think he just might be," Zidane said. "If you don't have a player like Steven Gerrard, who is the engine room, it can affect the whole team.
"When we were winning league titles and European Cups at Real, I always said Claude Makelele was our most important player. There is no way myself, [Luis] Figo or Raúl would have been able to do what we did without Claude and the same goes for Liverpool and Gerrard.
"He has great passing ability, can tackle and scores goals, but most importantly he gives the players around him confidence and belief. You can't learn that – players like him are just born with that presence."
