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The debate over who the best Premier League centre-back of all-time has re-emerged this week, with John Terry and Virgil van Dijk at the centre of it.
Former Liverpool winger Jermaine Pennant sparked the debate on talkSPORT, claiming Van Dijk’s longevity in the game is a reason why he is the best, while also saying he would rather face Terry in a one-on-one ‘every day of the week’.
It garnered a reply from Terry via a TikTok video, filmed in front of his vast trophy cabinet, in which the former Chelsea captain told Pennant to ‘get his stats right’.
‘There’s only one person who has got the most goals as a defender in Premier League history and that’s me. I also have the most clean sheets in history and if you’re comparing myself and Virgil, then I have more trophies than him as well.
‘Also, you brought up a really good point. At the age of 34, in the season of 2014/15, I played every single minute of every game for Chelsea, winning the league in that season with Mourinho as our manager.
‘So guys, this is over to you, I love the debate, I love being amongst it, I’m really proud of what I’ve done in the Premier League, but it’s clearly over to you guys to settle the debate… I’m just happy to be amongst it.’
Daily Mail Sport has now entered the debate, with our reporters putting forward their arguments for who is the greatest defender of the Premier League era.
The debate over whether Virgil van Dijk or John Terry is the greatest defender in Premier League history re-emerged this week
Terry, filming in front of his vast trophy cabinet, said he was honoured to be in the discussion but that it was up to others to debate
Daily Mail Sport reporters have given their verdict on who they think is the best defender in the Premier League era
Nemanja Vidic
Some contend that Rio Ferdinand was the greater defender of the central pairing in Manchester United’s team of serial winners. But Vidic is the greatest of all for me, with his absolute fearlessness and uncompromising approach. What a warrior spirit. He thrived in a far more uncompromising era, collecting five Premier League titles, a Champions League and Premier League Player of the Season in 2009 and 2011.
For actual defending, Virgil van Dijk doesn’t come close, fine though his elegance and anticipation have been. John Terry? You’re joking? For aerial power, aggression and willingness to defend on the front foot, Vidic was vastly superior to him.
Ian Herbert
Nemanja Vidic is vastly superior to Terry, and Van Dijk’s defending levels don’t come close
John Terry
Virgil van Dijk’s peak around 2019, when he finished second in the Ballon d’Or behind Lionel Messi, was perhaps marginally higher than John Terry’s. I’ll listen to those arguments.
But when it comes to sheer longevity of maintaining their top level – there were more than 10 years between his first and last two league titles – his part in the meanest Premier League defence of all-time, his leadership, his understanding of the game, the sheer volume of trophies, it’s Terry for me. Ashley Cole runs him a close second.
The name I want to say, of course, is Wes Morgan. Leicester bias front and centre, the guy played every minute in the greatest triumph in Premier League history.
And, look, I interviewed Callum Wilson the other month, a man who knows plenty about Premier League defenders, and he was asked to name the three toughest he’d faced in his career. The first name off his lips? Big Wes. I rest my case.
James Sharpe
Terry’s leadership, his understanding of the game and the sheer volume of trophies makes him the best
Virgil van Dijk
John Terry might have more trophies – he enjoyed reminding everyone of them when sitting at home, recording his video for Jermaine Pennant – but Virgil van Dijk has more class in his game.
Van Dijk was the signing that transformed a football club, the reason Liverpool were able to win almost every piece of silverware that is on offer from 2019 onwards. The very fact Liverpool fans can mention him in the same breath as Alan Hansen (the greatest of them all) is the only evidence you need to see the quality the Netherlands international exudes.
Van Dijk ticks every box – quick, strong, tactically adept, disciplined, brilliant in possession, faultless in his use of the ball and a weapon in the opposing penalty area.
This, it must be noted, is not to degraded Terry, who was absolutely outstanding in a different era. It’s just showing that Van Dijk – in this observer’s opinion – has taken defending on a level.
A word too, though, on Manchester City’s John Stones: look at his trophy collection and the class that runs through his game. On his day, Stones was genuinely world class.
Dominic King
Van Dijk was a signing that transformed Liverpool and led them to two Premier League titles
Rio Ferdinand
A gifted defender with pace and panache in abundance who read the game superbly over nearly two decades in the Premier League.
Ferdinand benefitted from playing alongside some fine central defensive partners at Manchester United – not least the rugged Nemanja Vidic – but he was a cornerstone of Ferguson’s last great team and a star of England’s so-called Golden Generation.
Not many players can match his medal haul that includes winning the Champions League and six Premier League titles.
Chris Wheeler
Ferdinand was a cornerstone of Alex Ferguson’s last great team and was a gifted defender with pace and panache in abundance
John Terry
This is one of those debates where I think you can make a lot of really credible arguments for a handful of players like Virgil van Dijk, Nemanja Vidic and Vincent Kompany.
But I’m going with Terry because on the pitch he combined elite level play with the gold standard for leadership.
A five-time league champion who also maintained top quality over a long period of time. The absolute gold standard when it comes to Premier League defenders.
Nathan Salt
