Wayne Rooney didn't hesitate when settling the Steven Gerrard, Paul Scholes and Frank Lampard debate once and for all

Wayne Rooney settled the Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Paul Scholes debate once and for all after he was asked about his former England teammates.

Rooney, who earned 120 caps and scored 53 goals for the Three Lions, was a member of England's 'golden generation' - which somehow never progressed beyond the quarter-finals of a major tournament.

The ex-Manchester United striker played alongside some legendary players during that period, with Gerrard, Lampard and Scholes among them.

In the past, many fans have pinned England's failure to win any silverware on the inability of Lampard and Gerrard to play well alongside each other.

Some also mention Paul Scholes' decision to retire from international football early after being misused in the national team.

In recent years supporters and pundits have debated which of the trio was the best, but Rooney settled the debate once and for all during an appearance on The Overlap brought to you by Sky Bet.

Rooney was asked to name the best player that he ever played alongside.

"On ability, Cristiano Ronaldo," he replied. "But Scholsey as well with what he brought to the team but certainly from an ability point of view, I’d say Cristiano."

Rooney then went on to compare Scholes, Lampard and Gerrard.

"Paul Scholes, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard are all different. As an all-rounder, Stevie is the best; he can defend, pass the ball, run, tackle, score goals, set pieces. As an all-rounder he’s the best from that point of view," he added.

"From a goalscoring point of view, Lamps [Frank Lampard] was the best. The goals he scored were incredible from midfield and technically he wasn’t at Stevie or Scholesy’s level but there was no-one better at scoring goals from midfield."

Image credit: Getty

Rooney added: "Scholesy, the way he adapted [made him amazing]. He was a striker when he was younger so to go to a ten, then midfield then a deeper midfielder dictating the game, I don’t think either of the other two [Gerrard or Lampard] could dictate a game the way he could.

"All were world-class players. Stevie could come to Manchester United and be a top player and do what Scholes could do. But I don’t think Scholes could do what Stevie did at Liverpool."