'I played with Rio Ferdinand and John Terry - they were miles better than Virgil van Dijk'

Jody Morris

Jody Morris snubbed Virgil van Dijk when naming former team-mates John Terry and Rio Ferdinand as the Premier League's two greatest-ever centre-backs.

The ex-Chelsea midfielder played at Stamford Bridge for seven years from 1996 to 2003 and for England's youth sides.

During his time in west London, he graced the pitch with an up-and-coming Terry in the early 2000s.

In his youth, Morris was also part of the same boyhood football circles as Ferdinand and made appearances alongside him for the Three Lions' Under-21s.

Morris, who would go on to be a first-team coach at Chelsea under Frank Lampard, was asked who his all-time greatest Premier League central defenders would be.

The 47-year-old couldn't split his peers Ferdinand and Terry, but did single out one factor that, in his estimation, separates the pair from Reds icon Van Dijk.

Morris

"If you're picking a Premier League best XI, if anyone picks another centre-half over JT and Rio, then they're not taking it seriously,"

“On Van Dijk, it is [a recency bias]. Van Dijk is an unbelievable player. But if you want to go to the Premier League's best, JT and Rio have to be your two centre-backs. They just have to. It's longevity. I'm not playing down Virgil van Dijk as a player here.

"But you go, he was at Groningen, then Celtic, then Southampton. If you think about those first little six or seven years, “

“JT and Rio are playing in the Premier League. One has won the league five times as captain, the most ever. Rio won the league six times and played for the biggest club in the world, or one of the biggest clubs in the world.”

"That's the only thing. You can't pick [Van Dijk]. I actually think there are other centre-halves that come after them that are still getting in over Virgil. I think you still would have to pick people like Sol Campbell and Tony Adams."

Morris reflected on playing with Terry, adding: "JT's underrated as a footballer as well. Like people always think, JT was like, put his body on the line, winner. He was a footballer. He had both feet.

“He could play centre midfield if he wanted to, same as Rio. JT had both feet, long-distance, short passing. You only realise how good he is if you're in and around it.”

"Like you'd be in the England squad and you'd think he was a much better footballer than people give him credit for. When everyone always speaks about Rio, they go, 'Ah, ball-playing centre-half.' And you go, 'By the way, JT was the exact same.'"

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