Steven Gerrard once claimed Liverpool flop was 'better' than Lionel Messi and his comments have aged terribly

Steven Gerrard once claimed a former Liverpool player was better than Lionel Messi - but his comments didn't age well.

Gerrard spent the vast majority of his playing career at Liverpool between 1998 and 2015, and won the Champions League in 2005.

He also collected 114 caps for England, scoring 21 goals, and captained the side at three major tournaments concluding with the 2014 World Cup.

All that means that Gerrard has played with or against some of the world's top players of those era - meaning he knows a good player when he sees one.

But on one occasion, the Liverpool icon missed the mark.

In 2010, he claimed that Messi, who was then already a one-time - soon-to-be two later that year - Ballon d'Or winner, wasn't as good as one of his Liverpool team-mates.

Gerrard claimed that Joe Cole, who had recently signed for the Reds on a free transfer, could do anything that Messi could on the pitch.

He told the BBC's Match of the Day magazine (quotes via The Guardian): "Messi can do some amazing things, but anything he can do, Joe can do as well, if not better.

"He used to shock us in training by doing footy tricks with a golf ball that most players can't even do with a football. I really fancy Joe for the [Player of the Year] award this year."

While Cole was one of the finest wingers of his era in the Premier League, he did not enjoy a successful time at Liverpool.

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Nor did he win the Premier League Player of the Year award, following a 2010/11 campaign which saw him score twice in 20 league appearances.

He was subsequently loaned out to Lille during the 2011/12 season, before joining West Ham in 2013.

Messi, meanwhile, scored 53 goals in all competitions during the 2010/11 season, and went on to win his second Ballon d'Or award months after Gerrard's comments.

He also won the La Liga, the Spanish Super Cup and the Champions League, with Barca defeating Manchester United 3-1 in that year's Champions League final at Wembley.