I’ve played with David Beckham & Gareth Bale but my team-mate who beat Cristiano Ronaldo to the Ballon d’Or is a genius
AARON LENNON rates Luka Modric as his most talented team-mate ever - because the Croat had one ability only Steven Gerrard could match.
Ex-winger Lennon played with Gareth Bale at Spurs and next to David Beckham, Frank Lampard and Gerrard for England's Golden Generation.
But he believes "genius" playmaker Modric stands alone.
The 172-cap legend is still going strong for Real Madrid at 38.
In contrast, 36-year-old Lennon retired in November 2022 after spells with Everton, Burnley and Turkish side Kayserispor.
Modric's peak year was arguably 2018 when he comfortably beat Cristiano Ronaldo to the Ballon d'Or and helped Croatia reach the World Cup final.
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He was the first player other than Ronaldo or Lionel Messi to be named world player of the year since Kaka 11 years earlier.
Modric joined Real in 2012 after four years at Spurs alongside Lennon.
And the former Three Lions speedster claims Modric and Gerrard are the only two footballers he knows who could dictate a whole match.
Lennon told of his ex-club-mate: “When he first came we saw glimpses of it and we were thinking, ‘oh this guy is special’.
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"But then it wasn’t until certain games against the big boys when it was like, wow, he can literally put us on the same level as them and run this game.
“The only other player who I’ve seen run a game like that was Steven Gerrard.
"They were the two who could completely control the tempo of a game, but Luka was a genius of a footballer.
“You couldn’t get [the ball] off him and he was my size! Playing in the middle of the park, no upper body, but big legs to be fair to him!”
