Alan Shearer names the five best centre-backs he played against

Alan Shearer’s 5 best centre-backs he played against

Coral football ambassador Alan Shearer spoke exclusively to us about the 5 best centre-backs he played against during his storied career.

As the Premier League’s all-time top goalscorer, Shearer came up against some legendary defenders, including many he mentions below.

Who are the 5 best centre-backs he played against? Read on as Alan reveals all…

“He kicked me, I kicked him but we’d always shake hands at the end of the game”

Tony Adams was one of the best I played against. I had some great battles with Tony. He kicked me, I kicked him but we’d always shake hands at the end of the game. He was a very good defender, a great organiser and leader.

Marcel Desailly, was a superb defender, such a good organiser. He was a battler, hard and quick. He could do it all, and was everything you’d want in a centre back. I had some great battles with him too.

Jaap Stam was another great centre back I played against. A tough player to play against, he was strong and hard as nails.

And then towards the end of my career there were two fantastic centre backs that I played against, Rio Ferdinand and John Terry, both very different types of defender. John Terry was very good with his feet, both left and right. He could spray the ball around, and if you were looking for someone to come and lead your team, you’d look no further than him. Rio Ferdinand was classy. He could read the game, he could pass, he could dribble out with the ball. He was quick and quite simply a very good centre-half.